Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay has played down talk that striker Fernando Torres could quit the club this summer.
Torres was left out of Roberto Di Matteo's starting line-up for the Champions League final win over Bayern Munich on Saturday night and later hit out at the club for their treatment of him, as well as revealing he is considering his future.
But although the Spain international's comments in a weekend interview have led to speculation suggesting he could leave Stamford Bridge, Gourlay believes the £50million record signing still has a big role to play at the club.
"Everybody wants to play, and at the end of the day I would be very surprised if Fernando, who has been awesome really [didn't]," Gourlay told Sky Sports News.
"I'm sure he wanted to play more games, I'm sure he wanted more time on the field as every professional player does.
"But at the end of the day [manager] Robbie [Di Matteo] picked the team to start the game. Fernando came on - we were behind at that stage - and he played a big part to help us win the Champions League final."
Gourlay also insisted the club's record signing should continue to fight for his place in the Chelsea team.
"Players who are left out for such a big occasion, it must have been very very difficult for Robbie and for the guys on the sidelines as well as Fernando," he added.
"It's the emotion of the time as well. The biggest day in our history, and there was emotion at different levels all over the field and all over the players, so you've got to take these things into account."
Bookmakers bet365 on Monday slashed the odds on Torres leaving west London this summer and spokesman Steve Freeth told Crunchsports.com: "Torres has made his feelings known after a frustrating season ended with the disappointment of starting the Champions League final on the bench.
"However, with the talismanic [Didier] Drogba odds-on to go, we’re currently 6/4 about the Spaniard leaving in the summer."
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