Ferran Express
Men's football•
Get to know the career so far of Paris Saint-Germain’s new signing, Ferran Torres!
Born in Foios, in the Valencia region, Ferran Torres discovered football at a very young age. After starting out in futsal, he joined the Valencia CF Academy at the age of just seven. In the youth ranks, the Spanish forward quickly rose through the ranks, making his first-team debut at the age of 17 in December 2017 against Eibar. He became the first player born in the 2000s to feature in a La Liga match.
Over three seasons, the young Valencia player gradually established himself at the club where he came through the ranks. Fast, agile and capable of playing on both flanks as well as in central positions, he quickly caught the eye of Europe’s top clubs. In 2019, he won the Copa del Rey with Valencia, before taking the next step in his career in the summer of 2020 by joining Manchester City.
In England, Ferran Torres found himself in a new environment under Pep Guardiola. Playing mainly in a more central role, he scored 11 goals in his first season across all competitions and played a part in the Citizens’ Premier League title and League Cup triumph. After a final half-season in Manchester, he joined FC Barcelona in January 2022.
Having arrived in Catalonia as one of Spanish football’s brightest prospects, Ferran Torres gradually established himself in Barça’s first-team squad. His versatility allowed him to play in all three attacking positions and meet the needs of his various managers.
Following a particularly successful 2024–2025 season, during which he scored 19 goals and finished as the Copa del Rey’s top scorer with six goals, the forward took his game to the next level the following season. In 2025–2026, he found the net 21 times, including 16 goals in La Liga, and won the Zarra Trophy, awarded to the league’s top Spanish goalscorer. He played a key role in Barça’s La Liga and Spanish Super Cup triumphs.
At the same time, the player now nicknamed ‘The Shark’ (El Tiburón) gradually became a key figure for La Roja. After featuring in Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup, he was crowned European champion in 2024. Two years later, he played in the 2026 World Cup with Spain. In the final against Argentina at MetLife Stadium, he came on as a substitute before becoming the hero of an entire nation: in the 106th minute, Ferran met a header from Nico Williams with his left foot and scored the only goal of the game. Spain secured their second World Cup title.
It was a powerful moment to round off an exceptional summer and mark the start of a new chapter, this time in Parisian colours.
Known as ‘El Tiburón’ (the Shark), Ferran Torres has gone by this nickname since 2023. It all began as a joke amongst several of his teammates in the Spanish national team, before the forward fully embraced the persona. For him, the shark symbolises a mindset: hard work, discipline, ambition and a constant drive to improve.
It’s a nickname that suits him all the better given that Ferran has a rather unusual trait: he was born on 29 February. So he only celebrates his birthday on that date in leap years!
Finally, before becoming a World Cup winner with Spain, Ferran had already made his mark on the history of the club that raised him. Having joined the Valencia Academy at the age of just seven, he is the 89th player to feature on the famous ‘De Paterna a Mestalla’ wall, which pays tribute to players from the Valencia youth system who have made it into the first team.
