Ferran Torres: Spain's favourite problem child

Every football team has that one player who makes you sigh before he even touches the ball. For Spain, it's Ferran Torres.

Nobody seems to dislike Ferran. In fact, that's the problem. Fans desperately want him to succeed. Every match begins with hope. Every match ends with thousands of people wondering how someone can miss the goal from three different angles at once.

His misses have become more famous than his goals. Scroll through social media after a Spain game, and you will find enough Ferran memes to keep you entertained until the next World Cup. The internet can be ruthless, and Ferran has accidentally become one of its favourite characters.

Then there's poor Lamine Yamal. Imagine being one of the brightest young footballers on the planet, producing inch-perfect passes that deserve applause, only to watch Ferran miss and turn them into a goal kick. Fans have started joking that Lamine's toughest opponent is not the defender standing in front of him. It's the teammate waiting for the pass.

Unfortunately for Lamine, he cannot escape him. Wherever he goes, Ferran seems to appear like that one friend who somehow ends up in every group photo.

The funniest part is that Ferran keeps giving everyone hope. He will score one brilliant goal, celebrate as he has finally silenced the critics, then spend the next match reminding everyone why the memes existed in the first place.

It's an endless cycle. Fans complain about him for 90 minutes, swear they have had enough, then convince themselves he will be different next time. Maybe that's why people still talk about him.

Ferran Torres is proof that football fans have the memory of a goldfish. He will miss four sitters, score one decent goal, and suddenly people will start saying that he is the second coming of David Villa. Two matches later, he is back shooting the ball into the sky, and social media is back in business. And if he scores in the next match, do not worry. He will be back to missing sooner or later, and as usual, the memes will still find a way to win.

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