Kolkata : IIkay Gundogan made a surprising comeback to his former club Manchester City after a year with Barcelona.
Along with him, Joao Felix also returned to his former club Chelsea.
However, Gundogan & Felix aren’t the 1st players to do so. Several other players also did return to their former PL clubs.
Here’s listed Top 5 Footballers who’ve returned to their former Premier League clubs :
(1) Thierry Henry (Arsenal)
1st Period (1999-2007) : 254 PL Matches, 174 Goals
2nd Period (2012) : 4 Matches, 1 Goal
Achievements – 2x Premier League, 2x FA Cup
Henry became an time Arsenal legend in his 1st stint with the club. Despite joining the side in 1999 from Juventus as a winger, he became a striker in later half. He eventually ended that spell as one of the all time greats.
The French World Cup-winner eventually joined Barcelona in 2007, having won 4 major trophies, including two Premier League titles – one of which was part of the “Invincible” side of 2003/04.
He returned to the side on loan from New York Bulls in 2012 & had a fairy tale brief stint with Arsenal. He scored an FA Cup winner on “debut” as a substitute against Leeds United, and then signing off in style with another winning goal at Sunderland in stoppage time of his final match with Arsenal.
(2) Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
First period (2003-2009): 196 matches, 84 goals
Second period (2021-2022): 40 matches, 19 goals
Achievements: 3x Premier League, 1x Champions League, 1x FA Cup, 2x League Cup, 1x FIFA Club World Cup
Teenager Ronaldo joined Manchester United in 2003 , before becoming as one of the greatest players in the world.
In his last season with the club in 2009, he scored 31 PL goals, winning the Ballon d’Or, before leaving for Real Madrid. He finished with 3 PL trophies, 1 UCL, 1 FA Cup , 1 Club WC trophies with the Reds by the time he left.
He returned to the side in 2021, announcing his arrival with a brace in debut. Both Manchester United and Ronaldo lost their prime by that time and he ended his stint with 19 goals in 40 matches, no titles, before leaving for Al Nassr in 2022.
(3) Wayne Rooney (Everton)
First period (2002-2004): 67 matches, 15 goals
Second period (2017-2018): 31 matches, 10 goals
16 years old Rooney started his PL Career at Everton with spectacular goal against Arsenal. He ended his 1st stint in 2004 scoring 15 goals in 67 matches before leaving for Manchester United.
Rooney returned to his boyhood club Everton in 2017 to finish his Premier League career and added 10 more goals including his first-ever Toffees hat-trick against West Ham United, which featured a stunning goal from inside his own half.
(4) Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
First period (2004-2012): 226 matches, 100 goals
Second period (2014-2015): 28 matches, four goals
Achievements: 4x Premier League, 1x Champions League, 4x FA Cup, 3x League Cup
Drogba established himself as one of the greatest strikers joining Chelsea in 2004.
He emerged as a clutch player scoring 100 goals, 3 Premier League, 1 UCL titles in his 1st stint, before joining Shanghai Shenhua.
Drogba returned to Chelsea in 2014 with another PL triumph and ended his career as one of the Greatest of all time.
(5) Gareth Bale (Spurs)
First Period (2007-2013): 146 matches, 42 goals
Second Period (2020-2021): 20 matches, 11 goals
Achievements: 1x League Cup
Bale saw a slow start at Spurs following his 2007 arrivals. However, a shift to an attacking role gave him a breakthrough. This included a hat-trick against defending champions Internazionale Milano in 2010, he was at times unstoppable.
His final season at Spurs was one of the great individual campaigns, featuring countless moments of match-winning magic, 21 league goals, four assists and the 2012/13 EA SPORTS Player of the Season award, earning him a move to Real Madrid.
Bale returned to Spurs in 2020-21 when things turned bitter for him at Madrid. He lost his prime by then but had respectable season with 16 goals in 34 matches in all competitions, including a second Premier League hat-trick against Sheffield United.
Apart from these 5 greats, other legendary Footballers like Teddy Sheringham , Robbie Fowler, Jurgen Klinsmann, Juninho, Jermain Defoe and so on , returned to their former Premier League clubs.
