Fernando Torres has admitted that there was a time when he did not care if Chelsea won or lost, but says he is now enjoying a new lease of life at Stamford Bridge.
The Spain striker endured a difficult spell following his £50million move from Liverpool in January 2011, finding himself on the fringes of the Blues team.
Torres revealed in an interview with El Pais that he became disenchanted with life at the club.
"Halfway through last season, I distanced myself from the values I had grown up with", Torres said. "I had team-mates who didn't care if the team won or lost because they were not playing. I never wanted to be like that - [But] one day I discovered that I was like them, that it didn't matter if we won or lost if I was not playing.
"I wasn't part of the group. I discovered that I was not happy because I had stopped being what I had always wanted to be. In the dressing room, you can never lose that group concept.
"But I learned to look at myself and to realise that the only person that can change is you. The only person who can say: 'You're making mistakes, you've got to do something' is you."
Torres, 28, feels the switch of management when Roberto di Matteo took over after Andre Villas-Boas' short tenure offered a fresh start.
"When we changed coach [and Roberto Di Matteo took over] it was a bit more similar [to Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez's style]. That had a good side to it, which was that I learned: I became a better player," he added.
"I can now do things that I was not able to before. You can be the player that your coach wants, but you're not the player that people expect you to be. I spoke to Steve Holland, the [Chelsea] assistant, a lot and we worked hard on it.
"I became more mature, I came to know myself better and became conscious of the fact that it depends on me.
"I learnt to be more self-critical, to understand everyone better and to accept the situation. I learnt that if we won it didn't matter that I hadn't played. I had to keep working. When I retire the only thing that concerns me is that no-one can say that I was a bad team-mate or disrespectful or self-important."
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Torres admits it was not a straightforward decision to leave Anfield, where he had become an important player after his £26.5million transfer from Atletico Madrid in July 2007.
"I owe Liverpool a huge amount. To the people, to the men in charge, to Benitez and his staff, to the city. Liverpool is a fundamental part of my life. They don't remember me that way, but time will change that," he said.
"I could not have chosen a better place to go when I left Atletico. My son is a Liverpool fan and he was already kicking a ball before he was one. He was born in the football city; he had no choice."
Torres added: "I decided to leave because I had to take a step forwards. It wasn't the best way to have gone, but nor were things exactly as they were sold [to people].
"One day the truth will come out. In a sporting sense, nothing was happening; a new project was needed. We talked about that - about growth."
