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"There's no place like home" is such a cliche line in Hollywood and daily life, but it's not often the case in football.
For players like Arjen Robben, there really is no place like home. Although the enigmatic winger retired from Bayern Munich after a decade with the German champions, he made headlines last year when he came out of retirement to sign for his Dutch boyhood club FC Groningen.
Injuries plagued much of his season, and he didn't spend enough time on the pitch. However, he made seven appearances and scored two goals, not bad for a 37-year-old retired winger!
Two weeks ago, however, he announced his (second) retirement with a simple statement thanking everyone.
However, he's joined a golden list of players who have made the decision to return to the club that raised them. So, in light of recent events in the Netherlands, let's take a look at 10 players who - like Bayern's famous winger - chose to go home.
10. Dani Alves - Sao Paulo
Perhaps one of the most brilliant right-backs in recent football history, Dani Alves embodied the Football Manager definition of the Complete Wing Back. In his prime at Barcelona, the Brazilian was churning in more than ten assists per season.
Making way for younger players in the Barca squad, he plyed his trade at Juventus before settling with PSG. After dispelling injury concerns and providing 7 assists to aid PSG in their latest conquest of French football, he captained the Brazilian National team to Copa America glory.
Although rumor mills placed the 37-year-old in line for a return to Camp Nou, he surprised everyone by signing a three-year contract at Sao Paulo, his boyhood club. After 17 years of dominating the right-back position in Europe, Alves is back home.
9. Wayne Rooney - Everton
Sir Alex Ferguson has been duly credited for bringing this Manchester United legend to the limelight at Old Trafford. Spending much of his career with the Red Devils, Wayne Rooney eventually made the decision to return to his boyhood club Everton.
It isn't often that your boyhood club is a contender for the Europa League spot in the English Premier League, but it certainly didn't stop the then-32-year-old from scoring 11 goals from a deeper role on the pitch.
Since then, he's played for DC United in the US, as well as Derby County. The 35-year-old has hung up his boots and currently manages Derby.
8. Carlos Tevez - Boca Juniors
Just like Dani Alves, Carlos Tevez shocked the footballing world with his decision to head back home in 2015, even though he had just finished a successful campaign with Juventus.
Netting 20 Serie A goals for the Old Lady was enough to gain the attraction of Liverpool, PSG and Atletico Madrid, but the then-31-year-old had his sights set on his Argentine boyhood club Boca Juniors.
Notably, the former Manchester City striker left Boca Juniors to ply his trade in China, but ended up returning again. He's officially at Boca for the third time in his career.
7. Daniel Agger - Brondby
The former Liverpool centre-back made a surprising decision to leave Anfield and return to Brondby, his boyhood club, in 2014 when he was just 29. At the time, Agger was regarded as one of the best center-backs in Europe, and his transfer fee should've been difficult for Brondby to settle.
He joined Liverpool from Brondby as a 21-year-old, commanding a transfer fee of €8.76m at the time. After eight years of dutifully serving at Anfield, Liverpool let Brondby buy him back for less than half that amount - a compassionate gesture to a longstanding and devoted player to the Reds.
After just two years at his boyhood club, he made the decision to hang up his boots. He's back in football again, but as head coach of HB Køge, and we can't wait to see what he brings to the table.
6. Nick Barmby
Having endured two difficult seasons at Leeds United, many pundits expected that Barmby would make the decision to leave. To their credit, he did.
However, his destination came as a profound shock: Barmby was leaving Leeds and the Premier League to join boyhood club Hull City two league tiers down, taking a £27,000-a-week wage cut along.
However, he helped Hull City rise to the Premier League within just four years, and he eventually became their manager in 2011.
5. Dirk Kuyt - Quick Boys
Kuyt started his career in the late 90s with Dutch amateur side Quick Boys. He eventually joined Ultrecht and Feyenoord before joining Liverpool in 2006. With over 200 appearances for the Liverpool, the star eventually returned to Feyenoord before eventually hanging up his boots.
While everyone thought his career was done and dusted, he was 37 after all, Kuyt made headlines when he decided to come out of retirement to play for his amateur boyhood club and help them gain promotion.
Looks like Arjen Robben picked a few things from Kuyt!
4. Robin van Persie - Feyenoord
Starting his career at Feyenoord, RVP's talents would eventually attract Arsene Wenger's eye. The youngster left Holland for the Premier League, joining Arsenal in 2004. Although he dealt with stubborn injuries, he remained an important part of the Gunners' lineup for years.
His shock move, however, took him from Arsenal to bitter rivals Manchester United. Even more painful for the Gooners, his move to Old Trafford came right after he scored 30 goals for Arsenal! In the three seasons he spent at Man United, van Persie played brilliantly and aided the Red Devils in bringing home the Premier League title.
The star striker left England for Fenerbahce in 2015, and in 2018, made the decision to go back to where it all started: Feyenoord. In the two years he played for his boyhood club, van Persie went on to score 21 goals in just 37 appearances.
3. Andriy Shevchenko – Dynamo Kyiv
For anyone who grew up in a Milan-supporting household, Andriy Shevchenko is a popular name. The former Milan star rose up the ranks in Dynamo Kiev, and quickly caught the attention of bigger European clubs.
Spending seven seasons at Milan, Shevchenko was synonymous with goals. Save for his fourth season where he managed only five Serie A goals, he was a consistent force in front of goal for the Italian giants, finishing his seven seasons with 127 Serie A goals to his credit.
His time at Chelsea, however, was much less eventful as he struggled season after season to find the net more consistently. Finishing two Premier League seasons with less than 10 goals, he made the decision to move back to Dynamo Kiev. He played another three seasons in Ukraine, back to his goalscoring ways, before finally hanging up his boots in 2012.
2. Diego Milito - Racing Club
The former Racing Club manager started his career with Racing Club back in 1999 before leaving Argentina for Genoa in Italy. He went on to play for Real Zaragoza, and eventually, Internazionale, where he won the Champions League under Jose Mourinho.
A dedicated finisher with an accomplished eye for goals, Milito averaged a shocking goal in every two appearances throughout the course of his entire career spanning three leagues.
At the age of 34, the former Genoa star made an emotional return to Racing, and he continued his prolific goalscoring even at that age. After popping 21 goals in his last 59 appearances for Racing, he decided to hang his boots.
Notably, he scored a goal in his last game for Racing!
1. Henrik Larsson
This prolific scorer is perhaps one of Celtic's biggest legends in recent football history. Larsson's career began with Swedish fourth division side Hogaborg. After his third season at Hogaborg, where he scored 15 goals in 22 games, it didn't take long for top tier Swedish club Helsingborg to notice him.
The goal machine went on to score a shocking 51 goals in 61 appearances before Feyenoord came calling. After four seasons in the Netherlands, he joined Celtic, where he averaged just over a goal per game across seven seasons!
After shortlived stints with Barcelona and Manchester United, the Swedish legend returned to Helsingborg, where he hung-up his boots in 2009.
Shockingly, he briefly came out of retirement to make an emotional comeback at his boyhood club Hogaborg in 2013. The former Celtic star was the assistant manager at the time, but due to several injuries, he picked up his boots again to help out.
Notably, he played alongside his15-year-old son, Jordan.
