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When players return to their former clubs, there is a multitude of emotions involved. The circumstances that led to their initial exit from the club combined with the ones responsible for their return play a vital part in a player coming back to a club.
There have been several celebrated homecomings in the recent past. There have been times when players have enjoyed a successful return to their former clubs. But there have also been times when players have returned to their former clubs amid huge fanfare only for everything to go south.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five football homecomings which failed.
#5 Paul Pogba to Manchester United (2016)
Paul Pogba left Manchester United as a free agent to join Juventus in 2012. The prodigal son returned to Old Trafford in 2016 but cost Manchester United a fortune. He is still their most expensive signing of all time, costing £94.5 million.
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Pogba cannot be termed an abject failure because he has had his moments and good spells at Manchester United. But they've come too far and few in between for him to have impacted the Red Devils' fortunes extensively over the course of a season.
He has also struggled with multiple injury issues. Towards the end of the 2021-22 season, it had become clear that he did not possess the doggedness or the grit to be a central midfielder for United in the Premier League.
The Frenchman and his agent Mino Raiola also consistently undermined the club during his stay. Pogba even publicly flirted with Real Madrid multiple times and this saw him fall out of favour with the club's fans.
With Pogba set to leave the club at the end of this month, the majority of the Manchester United fanbase seem to be happy to see his back.
#4 Mario Gotze to Borussia Dortmund (2016)
Mario Gotze was tipped to be the next big thing in football when he first broke onto the scene as a teenager. He was 22 years old when he scored the extra-time winner for Germany in the 2014 FIFA World Cup final against Argentina.
Gotze had a very successful four-year stint at Borussia Dortmund between 2009 and 2013 before joining Bayern Munich. He had already helped Dortmund win two Bundesliga titles and one DFB Pokal.
However, Gotze's move to Bayern Munich proved to be ill-advised as he failed to nail down a starting berth under Pep Guardiola. He eventually returned to Dortmund in 2016 but his much-celebrated return proved to be quite underwhelming.
Shortly after re-joining his former club, Gotze was diagnosed with a metabolic disease that caused weight gain and fatigue. He made a return at the start of the 2017-18 season but his influence waned considerably over the next few campaigns.
In the 2019-20 season, his final one with Dortmund, Gotze made just 21 appearances, scoring three goals and providing one assist.
#3 Antoine Griezmann to Atletico Madrid (2021)
Antoine Griezmann is arguably one of the best players of the last decade. He played an integral role in Atletico Madrid's successes during the 2010s and cemented his status as one of the best forwards in the game.
Griezmann left Atletico Madrid to join Barcelona in 2019. He couldn't replicate his form at the Camp Nou and had a largely underwhelming spell there by his own lofty standards. Griezmann was also signed for €120 million and failed to live up to his price tag at Barcelona.
The Catalans loaned him back to Atletico Madrid last summer on a two-year deal with an obligation to buy attached to it. The Rojiblancos' fanbase took a while to warm up to Griezmann again. The Frenchman was also nowhere near his best and Diego Simeone's side were underperforming as a whole.
He scored just eight goals and provided seven assists in 39 appearances across all competitions for Atletico Madrid. As per the terms of the contract, Atletico Madrid have an obligation to buy Griezmann permanently at the end of the 2022-23 season for €40 million.
According to a report on Diario SPORT, they do not want to shell out so much money on him due to his current form and are looking at ways to lower the fee.
#2 Diego Costa to Atletico Madrid (2018)
Diego Costa scored 27 goals in 35 La Liga appearances in the 2013-14 season to propel Atletico Madrid to the league title. This earned him a move to Chelsea ahead of the 2014-15 season. The Spanish striker delivered big time in West London and helped Jose Mourinho's side win the Premier League title in his debut season there.
He left Chelsea in 2017 on the back of yet another impressive campaign, winning the Premier League title once again. However, a falling out with then Chelsea manager Antonio Conte led to Costa returning to Atletico Madrid in 2018 on a then-club-record deal worth €60 million.
But Costa's second spell at Atletico Madrid turned out to be quite disappointing. Over the course of four seasons back at his former club, Costa scored just 19 goals and provided 14 assists in 81 appearances across all competitions.
Costa and Atletico Madrid mutually agreed to terminate his contract in December 2020 following which he joined Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro.
#1 Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea (2021)
Chelsea brought back their former player Romelu Lukaku last summer on a club-record deal worth €113 million. He came on the back of an excellent season with Inter Milan. Lukaku had just fired Inter Milan to their first Serie A title in 11 years, scoring 24 goals and providing 10 assists in 36 league appearances.
The Belgium international wanted to set the record straight with Chelsea and it looked like the reunion was going to work out in everyone's favour. But a year later, Lukaku is now set to be loaned back to Inter Milan and that says everything you need to know about his homecoming.
Lukaku struggled to find his feet in the Premier League upon his return and proved to be a poor fit for Thomas Tuchel's side. He scored just eight goals in 26 league appearances and was wasteful in front of goal.
Lukaku also fell out of favour with the Stamford Bridge faithful thanks to an interview with Sky Sports where he undermined Chelsea. He publicly flirted with his former club Inter Milan and effectively filed Chelsea as his fifth choice of destination in the summer of 2021.
