Rosell wants Liverpool striker Torres top of Barcelona shopping list

Barcelona have joined the battle for Liverpool striker Fernando Torres.

The Daily Mail says Chelsea and Manchester City had already expressed their desire to buy the £70million-rated Spaniard but now Sandro Rosell, the president-elect of Barcelona, has made contact with Torres’s representatives and has been encouraged by the response.

Torres is reluctant to leave Liverpool but is concerned over speculation surrounding Rafa Benitez’s future as manager and the club’s transfer funding and ownership.

It leaves Liverpool vulnerable to offers for the 26-year-old. But one factor in Liverpool’s favour is that current Barcelona president Joan Laporta plans to sign Valencia’s David Villa for £35m before the end of next week and that would make it difficult for his rival, Rosell, to splash out on Torres.