Five players who returned to their old clubs in England

With Ivan Perišić and Yves Bissouma already in the Spurs training center, Tottenham became one of the most active clubs in the Premier League so far, after Aston Villa, off course. But, coach Antonio Conte doesn’t want to stop there, as he is planning a couple of new signings and he is looking at one of his former players from Italy - Christian Eriksen. The Dane used to play under the Italian at Inter and it didn’t look good in season one, but after that, Eriksen became irreplaceable. Conte would like to secure the deal with Brentford player who is a free agent, and the Dane is open to returning to his former club. And he won’t be the first of doing it. But would it be a good move, considering history?

There are many players, in fact great players who came back for a second stint with their old club in the Premier League, but only few managed to revive their careers. Let’s look at some of them.

Drogba: Leave my Chelsea alone!

Didier Drogba

One of the greatest Africans to play in Europe, and one of the best strikes Chelsea ever had (including the pre-Roman Abramovich era) The Ivory Coast international is now a Premier League Hall of Famer (deservedly so) and he came to Stamford Bridge in 2004 from Marseille. He had a good 8 years at the club and won three Premier Leagues, two League Cups, four FA Cups and netted the crucial penalty in the Champions League final in 2012, after scoring the equalizer. He left after that season and after episodes in China and Turkey came back (again) under Jose Mourinho. This time, he stayed only for a season, but still managed to get another Premier League trophy and League Cup before he signed for Montreal.

2004-2012: 226 games, 100 goals

2014-2015: 28 games, 4 goals

Henry: 'Crying was impossible, I cried alone, and struggled not to break down'

Thierry Henry

Another Premier League Hall of Famer is Arsenal’s legend (and there are plenty of them). Even thou he played for European giants Barcelona and Juventus, Arsenal remains his home and the place he made his biggest achievements. The Frenchman came from Juventus in 1999 and stayed in North London for the next eight years, during which he took two Premier League trophies, two FA Cups, and two Community Shields. His career went downward (for many reasons) after signing with Barca in 2007 and the legendary striker made one more return to Emirates Stadium, on loan in 2012. He played in 7 games and scored two goals. 

1999-2007: 369 games, 226 goals

2012: 7 games, 2 goals

Tuesday, 22.30: (2.90) Levadia Tallinn (3.25) Vikingur (2.55)

What an investment: United spent nearly 219 million pounds on Pogba!

Paul Pogba

Well, what can we say about this fella? He certainly fits into this category, but was he a success? If you ask Manchester United fans, he failed on both occasions, and many will agree with this. After playing in only three games in the League Cup in 2011/12 season, Paul Pogba, encouraged by his manager Mino Raiola signed for Juventus as a free agent and spent four great years in Turin, winning Serie A titles and even reaching Champions League finals. He was bought by United for a record 103 million euros in 2016 and his second stint was as bad as the first, even with many games played. He did won the Community Shield, League Cup and Europa League in his first year under Mourinho, but after he fell out with the Portuguese, he was never the same player, even thou he was a regular under all other managers. He will leave the club again as a free agent, but considering his price, his return was an ultimate failure.

2011-12: 3 games, 0 goals

2016-2022: 230 games, 39 goals

Ronaldo's second tenure at Old Trafford coming to an abrupt end?

Cristiano Ronaldo

One of the best footballers to ever play the game made his career in Manchester United, from where he left to Madrid, to become a legend. After switching from Real to Juventus, the Portuguese announced his second return at Old Trafford in 2021. On a personal level, the 37 year old was still the best United player, with 18 Premier League goals along with 6 in the Champions League, but the club had a terrible campaign, finishing fifth.

2003-2009: 292 games, 118 goals

2021: 38 games, 24 goals

Lukaku's return to Milano agreed, Zhang to approve a 10 million euros loan

Romelu Lukaku

Read: Paul Pogba. Another big player who wanted to prove something so he came back to the club from which he didn’t go as a legend (like Drogba or Henry). The Belgian international came to Stamford Bridge at an early age and after three seasons left to a couple of loans before switching permanently to Everton. Fast forward to last season, Chelsea desperately needed a striker, and Inter Milan desperately needed to sell someone for big bucks to get out of financial trouble. Lukaku was ‘persuaded’ to leave and one year after, he has fallen out with the manager and the fans, and is on a verge of moving back to Inter on a loan.

2011-2014: 15 games, 0 goals

2021: 44 games, 15 goals