Villarreal CF have come to an agreement with Aston Villa for the transfer of the Vila-real born defender
Villarreal CF and Aston Villa have reached an agreement for the transfer of Pau Torres, who will play for the English club from the 2023/24 season onwards.
The club would like to thank the Vila-real born defender for his commitment and dedication on what has been a long and successful career at Villarreal CF and wish him all the best for the next stage of his professional career.
Pau Torres, from ‘hometown boy’ to Villarreal legend
Pau Francisco Torres (16.01.1997, Vila-real) has played 20 seasons at Villarreal CF. He is the player to have played the most games at all age groups for the club, starting his career in the Yellows youth academy in 2003 at just 6 years old.
Known affectionately by fans as the ‘xiquet del poble’ (‘hometown boy’), his dream of making his debut for the first team came true 13 years later, on 22nd December 2016, in the second leg of the Copa del Rey Round of 32 tie vs CD Toledo.
Just two year later, in the 2018/19 season, Pau Torres went on loan to Málaga CF to keep growing as a player. Nevertheless, just a few seasons later, the defender from Vila-real returned to Villarreal to play in the first team definitively, where he secured his place at the heart of the Yellows back line next to Raúl Albiol.
In the 2020/21 season, Pau Torres was became a UEFA Europa League champion with Villarreal CF. He scored one of the 11 penalties in the historic penalty shootout against Manchester United and, shortly after, thanks to his great form for the Yellows, formed part of the Olympic squad for Spain who won a silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Then just a year later, Pau Torres helped Villarreal to reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, putting in some performances to remember against some of Europe’s giants. The Vila-real native even scored the second goal against Juventus FC in Turin (0-3).
As well as representing Spain at Tokyo 2020, the Villarreal defender played in the 2020 UEFA European Championships and most recently, earlier this season, he also participated in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
With 172 appearances for the first team under his belt, Pau Torres is 25th in the all-time standings for the most official matches played for Villarreal CF.
In March 2023, Villarreal CF president Fernando Roig presented him with the gold insignia, as a special recognition for his time at the club, perfectly representing the club’s values and being a huge source of pride for the town of Vila-real.
See you soon, Pau!
