Jadon Sancho has returned to Borussia Dortmund on loan from Manchester United, with the hope of reigniting the form which first earned him a move to the Premier League.
However, players returning to their former clubs hasn’t always gone to plan. Here are five players who returned to their former clubs, and how they fared…
Cristiano Ronaldo – Manchester United
Embed from Getty ImagesHaving joined Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon in 2003, Cristiano Ronaldo went on to win three Premier Leagues, a Champions League and a Ballon d’Or at United.
Ronaldo quickly proved to be one of the most exciting prospects in the world and in 2009 was signed by Real Madrid for a record transfer fee at the time.
Ronaldo became one of the greatest footballers of all time, scoring over 300 goals for Real Madrid, winning two La Liga titles, four Champions Leagues and four more Ballon d’Ors.
But in 2018, Ronaldo shocked the world by leaving Real Madrid. Despite many believing a return to United was going to happen, it was actually Juventus who signed the Portuguese star.
United would have to wait another three years before re=signing Ronaldo in 2021, rejoining for a season and a half.
Ronaldo’s first season was impressive, scoring 18 Premier League goals on his return. However, relations between Ronaldo and United quickly went sour after an explosive interview with Piers Morgan in which he criticised the club and manager Erik ten Hag, with the star leaving to join the Saudi Pro League in 2022.
Thierry Henry – Arsenal
Embed from Getty ImagesThierry Henry spent eight years at Arsenal, winning two Premier League titles, including the 2003-04 invincible season.
Regarded by many Arsenal fans as their greatest ever player, Henry left the club in 2007 as Arsenal’s all time top scorer, scoring 228 goals.
Henry joined Barcelona where he won two La Liga titles and a Champions League before moving to New York Red Bulls in the MLS before he stunned the Premier League by returning to Arsenal in 2012 on a two-month loan deal to provide cover to Arsenal’s injury problems.
Henry scored on his first game back against Leeds in the FA Cup and for one final time in the Premier League against Sunderland in what was a special return to the club where he made his name.
Gareth Bale – Tottenham
Embed from Getty ImagesGareth Bale spent six years at Tottenham Hotspur winning both the PFA Young Player of the season and PFA Player of the season on separate occasions.
Bale was Tottenham’s biggest star, producing some incredible performances in the Premier League and Champions League and scored 21 goals in 33 Premier League games in his last season at Spurs.
In 2013, Bale became the most expensive footballer ever when he transferred to Real Madrid for a record breaking £86m.
Bale went on to win three La Liga titles and five Champions Leagues with Real Madrid before becoming out of favour in the latter stages of his career.
After nine years away with Real Madrid, Bale returned to Tottenham in 2020 on a loan deal. Bale managed to score 16 times on his return to Spurs in what was a decent comeback but ultimately not one which helped to end Tottenham’s trophy drought.
Romelu Lukaku – Chelsea
Embed from Getty ImagesRomelu Lukaku first joined Chelsea in 2011 from Belgian side Anderlecht. Lukaku was sent on two loan spells during his time at Chelsea but was never able to properly break into the first team.
Lukaku was sold to Everton in 2014 where he began to score at a rapid rate and eventually got a transfer to Manchester United and later Inter Milan.
Impressive goal scoring form led to Chelsea re=signing their former striker from Inter Milan for a huge fee of just under £100m. But despite scoring on his return debut, Lukaku’s comeback didn’t go to plan after a public fallout with manager Thomas Tuchel and, like Cristiano Ronaldo, an explosive TV interview.
Less than two years after joining, Lukaku was loaned back to Inter Milan before later being loaned to Roma and looks to have no way back at Chelsea.
Wayne Rooney – Everton
Embed from Getty ImagesManchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney began his career at Everton, rising through the youth ranks and making 77 appearances for the first team.
United were quick to sign Rooney from Everton in 2004 who would go on to spend 13 years at United, writing his name as a club legend.
Rooney made over 500 appearances for United, scoring 253 goals and winning 16 trophies in his spell at the club.
But Rooney’s love for his boyhood club remained throughout his career as he returned to Everton in 2017 for a season before he left to join DC United in the MLS.
In his return season, Rooney scored 11 goals for Everton in 40 games.
