Gundogan to Man City: 5 times players returned to Premier League clubs

Ilkay Gundogan has completed a remarkable return to Manchester City just a year after departing the club. 

The German captained City to a remarkable treble – winning the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup – during the 2022/23 campaign before departing The Etihad to join Spanish side Barcelona.

But, after just one season in Catalonia, the 33-year-old has rejoined City, signing a one-year-contract.

Here, we take a look back at five players who made sensational returns to Premier League clubs.

Didier Drogba – Chelsea (2004-12 & 2014-15)

Striker Didier Drogba first joined Chelsea in 2004, having impressed with French side Marseille. After a slow start to life in England, the Ivorian went on to score more than 150 goals for the Blues during his first spell at Stamford Bridge. He departed in 2012, with his last kick for Chelsea being the winning penalty in their shoot-out victory over Bayern Munich to win the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.

After spells in China and Turkey, the forward returned to London ahead of the 2014/15 season and netted a further seven times, taking his tally for the club in total to 164 across all competitions. He also added a fourth Premier League title and a third League Cup to his Chelsea trophy collection, which also included the Champions League, four FA Cups and two Community Shields.

Drogba won three Premier League titles across his two spells with Chelsea

Wayne Rooney – Everton (2001-04 & 2017-18)

After joining Everton youth academy as a youngster, Wayne Rooney announced himself on the Premier League stage at the age of 16 when scoring a stunning strike against Arsenal at Goodison Park. He went on to score 17 goals and provide five assists for the Toffees, before moving to Manchester United where he enjoyed more than a decade of enormous success. He returned to Goodison Park in the summer of 2017, though, and scored ten goals during the 2017/18 season before departing to join MLS side DC United. Rooney remains third on the list of the Premier League’s all-time top scorers, with 2018, and he is also fourth on the assists chart.

Rooney made 117 appearances for Everton across two spells with the club

Cristiano Ronaldo – Manchester United (2003-09 & 2021-22)

Regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Cristiano Ronaldo has had two spells at Old Trafford – of varied success. The Portuguese first arrived in England as a teenager when he joined Manchester United in 2003, and he quickly established himself as one of the best young players in Europe. Primarily a winger at that time in his career, Ronaldo scored 127 times for the Red Devils before securing an £80 million move to Spanish giants Real Madrid – a world record fee at that time.

He reached new heights in the Spanish capital, adding sixteen trophies to his cabinet including four Champions League titles. A move to Juventus then followed, before the Portugal icon made a sensational return to Old Trafford in 2021, shocking the world of football.

The forward netted a respectable 18 times in 30 Premier League games during his return season, before falling out with manager Erik ten Hag and departing to the Saudi Arabian Pro League to join Al-Nassr. In total, Ronaldo has played more than 340 times for Manchester United.

Ronaldo made a shock return to Manchester United in 2021

Thierry Henry – Arsenal (1999-2007 & 2012)

Thierry Henry joined Arsenal in 1999 and made an instant impact in North London, scoring 17 times in his first Premier League season. The Frenchman helped the Gunners to win two top flight titles in three seasons in the early 2000s, the latter of which involved an ‘invincible’ season – something that has still not been replicated in England. Henry eventually left Arsenal to join Spanish side Barcelona, having scored 226 times in 370 games for the London side.

He enjoyed a successful spell in Spain, before making a shock return to North London in 2012. He made an instant impact once again, scoring on his second debut for the club to earn the Gunners a 1-0 win over Leeds United in the FA Cup third round.

Henry went on to score against Sunderland in the Premier League too, in what turned out to be his final game for Arsenal.

Henry scored against Leeds United on his second debut for Arsenal

Romelu Lukaku – Chelsea (2011-14 & 2021-present)

One player that’s return to a former club in the Premier League hasn’t quite gone to plan (yet) is striker Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian first joined Chelsea in 2011 but struggled to force his way into the first team at Stamford Bridge, and was therefore sent on loan, first to West Bromwich Albion and then to Everton. The forward was prolific during both spells, and his form prompted the Toffees to sign him permanently in 2014 despite the player having never scored for Chelsea.

After a spell with Manchester United, the Belgium international moved to Italy to join Inter Milan, and played a crucial role for the club as they won the Serie A title in 2021, netting 24 times in 36 league games. That form prompted Chelsea to splash £97.5 million to re-sign the striker, but his return to London didn’t go to plan.

After impressing initially, Lukaku fell out of favour after criticising then-managed Thomas Tuchel in an interview with Italian press. He found himself on the bench more often than not during the 2021/22 campaign, and has since had spells on loan both back at Inter and at fellow Italian club Roma, where he worked under Jose Mourinho.

At present, the player faces a very uncertain future, although Serie A side Napoli could give him another chance to impress in Italy.

Lukaku has had two relatively unsuccessful spells at Chelsea