When a player or manager is linked with a return to their former club, it is often said: "Never go back."
Second spells are rarely as successful as the first in football or seldom live up to expectations if the player in question was a hit in their initial stint.
There are plenty of exceptions, of course, with players who were more successful after leaving at a young age or exceeded expectations on their return.
Here, a look at some high-profile players from the men's game who went back to their former clubs and how they got on second time around...
Paul Pogba
Paul Pogba joined Manchester United as a youth player but left for Juventus in 2012 due to a lack of opportunities at Old Trafford.
After four years at Juve, Pogba returned to United in 2016 for a world record fee of €105 million (£89.3 million). The World Cup-winning midfielder spent six seasons back with the Red Devils, before moving to Juventus again in 2022. His contract was rescinded in November 2024 following a drugs ban.
Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona started his career at Argentinos Juniors in the late 1970s before starring for Boca Juniors between 1981 and 1982.
A move to Barcelona followed and then a glorious spell at Napoli, but after a drugs ban and a short stint at Sevilla, the World Cup winner went back to Argentina with Newell's Old Boys and later made an emotional return to Boca in 1995. His second spell was interrupted by controversial incidents, fitness issues and mixed performances on the pitch, but the fans loved having him back.
Arjen Robben
Arjen Robben started his career at FC Groningen and after two seasons at PSV, the winger went on to play for Chelsea, Real Madrid and then for a decade at Bayern Munich.
Robben called time on his career in 2019, but came out of retirement to join Groningen in 2020. He made only a handful of appearances due to a seven-month spell on the sidelines and hung up his boots definitively in 2021.
Zico
Zico is one of Brazil's all-time greats and a legend at Flamengo, where he spent more than 15 years across two spells and won a string of titles, including the Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup.
The attacking midfielder broke through at the Rio de Janeiro club in the early 1970s and starred with the Rubro-Negro for over a decade. After two seasons with Udinese in the mid-1980s, he returned to Flamengo in 1985 and spent four more years with the club before finishing his career in Japan.
Luis Suárez
Before embarking on a hugely successful career in Europe with Ajax, Liverpool, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid, Luis Suárez started out at Nacional in Montevideo.
And the Uruguayan forward returned to his former club in 2022 after leaving Atleti, helping Nacional win the championship before moving to Grêmio in Brazil and later to Inter Miami.
Didier Drogba
One of the greatest centre-forwards in Premier League history, Didier Drogba spent eight seasons at Chelsea between 2004 and 2012 and capped a superb spell in west London by scoring the equaliser and later the winning penalty as the Blues beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final in 2012.
After short stints with Shanghai Shenhua and Galatasaray, Drogba returned to Chelsea for a second spell in 2014 and won a fourth Premier League title in a sole season back with the Blues before joining Montreal Impact in 2015.
Álvaro Arbeloa
Álvaro Arbeloa started his career at Real Madrid but moved to Deportivo La Coruña in 2006 following a lack of opportunities at the Santiago Bernabéu and spent two years at Liverpool between 2007 and 2009.
The right-back returned to Madrid in 2009 and spent seven years with Los Blancos in a successful period, before finishing his career with a brief spell at West Ham in 2016/17.
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney began his career at Everton, impressing as a teenager between 2002 and 2004 before a big-money move to Manchester United.
The former England forward spent 13 seasons at Old Trafford and won a string of trophies, becoming Manchester United's all-time top scorer before returning to Goodison Park for the 2017/18 campaign. Later, he played for D.C. United and Derby County, where he began his managerial career.
Juan Román Riquelme
Juan Román Riquelme earned hero status at Boca Juniors in the late 1990s and early 2000s, helping the Buenos Aires giants win two Copas Libertadores, an Intercontinental Cup and three Argentine titles in a highly successful spell at La Bombonera.
After four-and-a-half years in Spain with Barcelona and Villarreal, Riquelme returned triumphantly to Boca in early 2007 and stayed for another seven years, winning another Libertadores crown and a couple more Argentine championships before ending his playing days with Argentinos Juniors.
Ruud Gullit
One of the world's greatest players in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Ruud Gullit helped AC Milan to three Serie A titles and two European Cups in a hugely successful spell.
The Dutch midfielder left for Sampdoria in 1993 and won the Coppa Italia with the Genoa-based club. He briefly returned to Milan in the 1994/95 season, but played only a handful of games and moved to Chelsea in the summer.
Santi Cazorla
Santi Cazorla was a youth player at Real Oviedo, but joined Villarreal as a teenager and spent three seasons at the Yellow Submarine before joining Recreativo Huelva in 2006.
After a year at the Andalusian club, Cazorla returned for a second spell between 2007 and 2011, later playing for Málaga and Arsenal. He left the Gunners in 2018 after a long period on the sidelines, but was back in action at Villarreal for a third time later that year following a series of operations. The former Spain midfielder later joined Al-Sadd in 2020, but returned to his homeland with first club Oviedo in 2023.
Kaká
AC Milan fans protested outside the club's offices ahead of the Brazilian midfielder's sale to Real Madrid in 2009.
Kaká's time in Madrid was interrupted by injuries and did not live up to expectations. After four seasons in Spain, he returned to AC Milan for the 2013/14 campaign and also had a spell on loan at first club São Paulo following a move to Orlando City.
Hristo Stoichkov
A legendary figure in Johan Cruyff's Dream Team between 1990 and 1995, Hristo Stoichkov played a huge part of Barcelona's success in that era, scoring 108 goals and winning four La Liga titles, a European Cup and more.
After a single season at Parma in 1996/97, Stoichkov returned to Barça and picked up a few more trophies under Bobby Robson and Louis van Gaal, but was on the fringes in his second spell and left for CSKA Sofia in early 1998.
Jürgen Klinsmann
Jürgen Klinsmann signed for Tottenham in a shock transfer after the 1994 World Cup and the Germany forward quickly became a fan favourite at White Hart Lane.
Klinsmann broke the fans' hearts and upset chairman Alan Sugar by leaving for Bayern Munich after a single season in north London, but he returned on loan for six months in 1998 to help save Spurs from relegation. Across his two spells, he hit 38 goals in 68 appearances.
Marcelo
Marcelo left Real Madrid in 2022 as Los Blancos' most decorated player, having won 25 trophies with the club, including six La Liga titles and five Champions League crowns.
After a brief spell at Olympiacos, the Brazilian left-back returned to his homeland with first club Fluminense in early 2023 and helped the Rio de Janeiro side win the Copa Libertadores in November that year. His contract was rescinded by mutual consent in November 2024.
Ian Rush
Ian Rush spent 15 years at Liverpool across two spells in the 1980s and 1990s, either side of a difficult season as a Juventus player in 1987/88.
Rush hit over 200 goals in seven seasons with the Reds between 1980 and 1987, winning four First Division titles, two European Cups, an FA Cup and four League Cups in a hugely successful era for the club. The Wales centre-forward returned in 1987 and went on to become the Reds' all-time top scorer with 346 goals across his two spells, adding three more trophies before leaving for Leeds United in 1996.
Andriy Shevchenko
Andriy Shevchenko came through the youth system at Dynamo Kyiv and the Ukrainian striker became one of Europe's finest forwards.
Shevchenko spent seven successful seasons at AC Milan between 1999 and 2006. After a less prolific stint at Chelsea, he returned to Milan on loan in 2008 and later finished his career back at Dynamo from 2009 to 2011. He scored 30 goals in 83 games in his second spell, but won just one Ukrainian Super Cup.
Thierry Henry
Thierry Henry left Arsenal for Barcelona in 2007 after two Premier League titles, two FA Cups and 226 goals in 370 appearances for the Gunners.
Already the club's all-time top scorer, Henry made an emotional return to Arsenal on loan from New York Red Bulls in January 2012 and scored two more goals in seven games to make it 228 in 377 appearances overall.
