Football - Liverpool FC: FERNANDO TORRES is refusing to be drawn on his Liverpool future but has urged the club to address the off-field issues that continue to hamper hopes of success at Anfield.

Torres has been the subject of intense speculation during recent weeks given the uncertainty surrounding Liverpool, including the position of manager Rafael Benitez.

Chelsea, Manchester City and Barcelona are all interested in signing the 26-year-old despite Liverpool having declared they have no intention of parting with any of their prized assets.

Torres’s agent, Jose Antonio Peton, appeared to back up that claim on Wednesday when he said “for the moment I can assure fans that Fernando will continue at Liverpool next season”.

However, Torres was less forthcoming yesterday, instead echoing the comments of Liverpool team-mate Steven Gerrard by stating the World Cup is his priority for now.

Of the remarks from his agent, the striker said: “I didn’t read them. The most important thing for me now is the World Cup. My future is the World Cup and then we’ll see later.

“For now and hopefully for the next two months the only thing I am thinking about and talking about is the World Cup.”

Torres has previously spoken out about the need to bring in “four or five” quality signings this summer but admits the ownership at Anfield needs to be addressed.

Former chairman David Moores yesterday called for co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett to sell their stake as quickly as possible after a tumultuous three-year reign, although Hicks believes it could be as long as 18 months before the club is sold.

And Torres said: “That is one of the ways we need to improve.

“I know the situation, I speak to the chief executive (Christian Purslow) and Rafa (Benitez) every week and I am aware of what is going on.

“I have tried to stay apart from them and re-focus on the national team so when the World Cup ends, we’ll see what happens.”

Torres has not played since undergoing a second knee operation inside three months in April, but is hopeful of being available for Spain’s opening World Cup game against Switzerland on June 16.

“I feel better,” he said. “I have been training on my own for five weeks with just me and the fitness coach. Hopefully next week I’ll be training with the rest of my team-mates. If all goes well I’ll be in normal training on Monday.”