Raul Torrente, the center-back who joined Dinamo on a free transfer and shone as a potential star under Nenad Bjelica, is leaving on loan to French club Le Mans after a serious knee injury at Poljud. Meanwhile, Dinamo is preparing for the Champions League playoff against Viking at Maksimir.
When he arrived at Dinamo from Granada on a free transfer in the winter of 2024, many wondered why Raul Torrente had taken such a step back in his career. Spanish sports daily Marca described his move as a calculated risk, believing he could follow the path of Dani Olmo. "Today he is one of the most valuable players at the club," Marca wrote, but two and a half years later, the 24-year-old center-back is leaving Maksimir on loan to newly promoted French Ligue 1 side Le Mans.
Instead of the spotlight of Europe's biggest stages, Torrente will try to revive his career in France, much like Max Bernauer did before him by moving to St. Etienne. According to information from Sportske novosti, Le Mans will have an option to buy out his contract for €1 million, provided the club remains in the top flight of French football at the end of the season. For Dinamo, this is not a spectacular profit, but given that he arrived on a free transfer, the loan helps amortize the cost of his high salary.
From a sporting perspective, the departure is a logical move. In the current center-back hierarchy under coach Mario Kovačević, Torrente is far from the first plan. The standard pairing consists of Scott McKenna and Sergio Dominguez, while Niko Galešić and Stjepan Radeljić are the first choices for rotation. At the end of last season, Marko Zebić, a product of the club's academy, also emerged as a fresh option, pushing Torrente down to the position of fifth or even sixth center-back in the squad.
Torrente introduced himself at Dinamo as a modern center-back, a player who does not shy away from the ball and likes to participate in building attacks. His profile is very similar to that of Sergio Dominguez, on whose transfer Zvonimir Boban planned to make serious money. Who knows if Dominguez would have even arrived at Maksimir had Torrente stayed healthy. But fate was cruel. In the final stretch of the 2024/25 season, in the big derby at Poljud where Dinamo celebrated a 3-1 win over Hajduk, Torrente was carried off the pitch near the end of the first half after a duel with Marko Livaja. The diagnosis was severe - cruciate ligaments in his knee had torn - causing him to miss the entire following season. Ironically, he had already suffered the same injury in the 2021/22 season, when he spent eight months on the sidelines.
Upon arriving at Dinamo, Torrente did not immediately get his chance. Then-coach Sergej Jakirović built his defense around the center-back duo of Teophile-Catherine and Mmaee, with whom he advanced to the Champions League but also suffered a debacle at the Allianz Arena, conceding nine goals to Bayern. Torrente languished on the bench with significant minutes only against Gorica. The turning point was the arrival of Nenad Bjelica, who immediately recognized his potential. "He is the best player I have ever coached," Bjelica would often say about his project, and Torrente repaid him with two goals in the 5-0 victory over Lokomotiva. He soon established himself in the starting eleven and remained there until Bjelica's departure at the end of 2024.
In the era of Fabio Cannavaro, the center-back was still well regarded, but that alliance fell apart after just ten matches, following a shocking 0-3 defeat in Pula. Until the end of the 2024/25 season, he lived in a hot-and-cold mode, and after the injury at Poljud, he watched the Blues' run to the finish line from bed with his leg in a cast. A year later, he got the chance to lift the championship trophy by playing about thirty minutes against Lokomotiva, but even then it was clear that he needed to seek his fortune elsewhere. After two cruciate ligament surgeries, for Raul Torrente even one injury-free season would already be a success.
While Torrente packs his bags for Le Mans, Dinamo is turning to new challenges. On Tuesday, August 18, at 9 PM, the UEFA Champions League playoff against Norwegian side Viking FK will be played at Maksimir Stadium. "Let's go for the Champions League together! 💙✨," the club said on their official Twitter profile. Tickets are sold online, with a priority window for club members starting on Wednesday, August 12 at 11 AM and lasting until Thursday, August 13 at 11:59 PM. General sale begins on Friday, August 14 at 11 AM. Ticket prices range from €12 for members in the North lower tier to €28 for other fans in the West lower tier. "Maksimir is calling you 💙," reads the club's post alongside a photo of Luka Stanzl.
