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Football is a big business these days and while most players get into the sport purely for the love of the game, as a fan it’s very easy to become cynical when big-name stars move around from club to club for huge transfer fees, seemingly showing little loyalty in the process.
Sometimes though, football is a more romantic sport than people give it credit for, and while there are definitely plenty of mercenary players out there, others remain loyal to the same club throughout their careers – while others might return to their old stomping grounds, often when their time in the game is coming to an end.
Here are 5 superstars who made a triumphant return to their boyhood clubs.
1. Wayne Rooney
When he broke through as a 16-year old at Everton, Wayne Rooney famously celebrated an early career goal by showing off a t-shirt that read “once a Blue, always a Blue”. That earned him to scorn when he moved to Manchester United just months before his 19th birthday, but after he’d won countless trophies – including 5 Premier Leagues and one Champions League – at Old Trafford, and had become the Red Devils’ highest ever goalscorer, Rooney proved that the famous statement was actually true.
Despite being just 32 years old and coming off a season that saw him help United to victories in the Europa League and EFL Cup, Rooney was allowed to leave the club on a free transfer in the summer of 2017, and he headed directly back to Goodison Park, where he’d made his name more than a decade beforehand.
Rooney only lasted one season back at his boyhood club, but he did show flashes of the old greatness; a hat-trick against West Ham was particularly memorable and he scored 10 Premier League goals for the Toffees, too. The former England captain moved on to the USA with DC United in the summer of 2018, but thanks to his return to Everton, he was once again a hero in the eyes of their fans.
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2. Carlos Tevez
Once considered one of the ultimate mercenary footballers thanks to his jump from Manchester United to Manchester City – and his subsequent questionable conduct while playing for the Citizens – Argentine striker Carlos Tevez showed his romantic side when he made a surprise move back to his boyhood club – Boca Juniors – in the summer of 2015.
It was hardly like Tevez was past his prime, either; ‘El Apache’ had scored 29 goals in 2014/15 and won the Scudetto and reached the Champions League final with Juventus. But rather than make a bigger move to somewhere like PSG, the Argentine chose to return home, where he scored 9 goals in 15 appearances as Boca won the Argentine Primera Division and the Copa Argentina, too.
Sure, his mercenary side reared its head again in December 2016 when he moved to Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua – reportedly becoming the world’s highest paid player in the process – but after a single season there, he was back at Boca, where he’s remained since. And at 35 it looks likely that he’ll end his career there, too.
3. Henrik Larsson
One of the greatest strikers of his generation, Henrik Larsson perhaps wasn’t appreciated as much as he should’ve been until the twilight of his career. The Swede’s professional career began at Helsingborg in 1992, where he scored 34 goals in 31 games, and the goals simply kept coming from there onwards.
Larsson’s peak came during his time at Celtic – he scored 242 goals for the Scottish side in 313 appearances, and won the Scottish Premier League on four occasions – but a move to Barcelona in the summer of 2004 brought him the acclaim he’d always deserved, and while at the Spanish giants he even captured the Champions League in 2005/06.
Despite being in his mid-30’s, Larsson clearly still had a lot in the tank – which was why it came as a surprise when he left Barcelona in the summer of 2006 to rejoin Helsingborg. He would spend a further four seasons there – scoring 54 goals in the process – and after his retirement in 2009, returned to his boyhood club for a third time, this time as the club’s manager.
4. Andriy Shevchenko
Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko initially made his name with his boyhood club Dynamo Kyiv, debuting for them at the age of just 16, and it was at Dynamo that he emerged in the late 1990s as one of Europe’s deadliest strikers. Shevchenko won 5 Ukrainian league titles with the club, and scored some memorable Champions League goals against Europe’s giants, including a hat-trick against Barcelona.
The Ukrainian made a move to AC Milan in 1999 and it was there that he rose to his greatest fame, winning the Champions League in 2002/03 and then lifting the Scudetto in the following season. Shevchenko was a literal goal machine during his time in Italy, hitting a total of 172 goals across his 7 seasons at the San Siro. A move to Chelsea didn’t work out for the striker though, and so in 2009, at the age of 32, he made the move back to Dynamo.
The return to his boyhood club clearly suited Shevchenko, as he was able to score 8 goals in all competitions in his return season – and then doubled that total with 16 in 2010/11, making it his most productive season since he initially left Milan.
Shevchenko eventually retired from football in 2012 – and is now the manager of the Ukraine national side, and has led them to next summer’s Euro 2020 tournament, proving that for this striker, there’s no place like home.
5. Cesc Fabregas
The previous entries in this list all returned to their boyhood club in the twilight of their careers, but for Spain’s Cesc Fabregas, his return to Barcelona was a little different in that he returned in his prime, and ended up winning plenty of trophies before moving on again later down the line. Still, the cultured midfielder’s return was no less emotional – nor less controversial.
Fabregas emerged in Barca’s famed La Masia academy, where he started his career aged just 10, but by 2003 – as a 16-year old – the midfielder sensed that playing opportunities at the Nou Camp could be limited, and so he made a switch to Arsenal’s academy, where he eventually made his way into the first team and became a key player for the Gunners.
In 2008/09 Fabregas was named as Arsenal’s new captain, but despite his clear love for the London club, media speculation soon began to pick up pace around a potential move back to his boyhood club. And when Spain won the 2010 World Cup – and Fabregas’s Barca-based teammates Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol pulled the famous red and blue shirt onto him – it was clear that something was up.
It took another season, but sure enough, Fabregas returned to the Blaugrana in the summer of 2011, and subsequently won numerous trophies with his boyhood club, including one La Liga title in 2012/13. After three seasons at the Nou Camp, Fabregas moved back to England with Chelsea – but his desire to return to Barcelona and success there showed everyone where his heart really lay.
