Ronaldo and 8 others who rejoined former clubs as Dani Alves back at Barcelona

Former Barcelona defender Dani Alves completed his return to the club on Monday, five years after leaving for Juventus.

The 38-year-old has re-joined the Catalan giants until the end of the season but will not be able to feature until January.

According to Spanish outlet Sport, Alves will become the lowest paid member of the first-team squad.

“I knew within my heart and within my soul that this day would come,” Alves wrote on Instagram, accompanied by him kissing the club badge at the Camp Nou. “See you soon with the same desire to help rebuild the best club in the world!”

But Alves is not the only player to return to his former employers during their career, with several others doing the same.

Here, Daily Star Sport takes a look at eight others who have re-joined their former clubs in the last decade.

Cristiano Ronaldo – Manchester United

Ronaldo completed his sensational return to Man Utd on deadline day, after departing in 2008 for Real Madrid for a then-world-record £80million fee.

The Portuguese superstar spent nine years in the Spanish capital – which saw him win just about everything club football has to offer – before joining Juventus in 2018.

But after a three-year spell with The Old Lady, Ronaldo decided the time was right to return to Old Trafford.

Romelu Lukaku – Chelsea

Who is the biggest shock name to return to their former club? Comment below.

Lukaku joined Chelsea as an 18-year-old from Anderlecht in 2011, but was scarcely given a chance at Stamford Bridge.

After loan moves with West Brom and Everton, Lukaku subsequently departed Stamford Bridge in favour of a move to the Toffees in 2014, until United came calling in 2017.

A two-year spell with Inter followed, but Lukaku felt he had unfinished business at Chelsea and returned to the club this summer for £97.5m, after helping the Italian giants to their first Scudetto in 11 years.

Thierry Henry – Arsenal

Henry proved himself as one of the greatest strikers in Premier League history, before he departed north London for Barcelona in 2007, following an eight-year stint with the Gunners.

Three years later and Henry was on the move again, this time to the MLS with New York Red Bulls, in what proved to be the final permanent move of his career.

But Henry couldn’t keep away from his love affair with Arsenal, and in 2012 he was back at the Emirates on a two-month loan deal, where he scored the winner on his debut against Leeds in the FA Cup.

Didier Drogba – Chelsea

Chelsea’s greatest-ever Premier League striker called time on his career with the Blues after his heroics in the 2012 Champions League final.

The Ivory Coast forward left after winning no fewer than ten trophies, including three Premier League titles.

Shanghai Shenhua and Galatasaray came next, but Drogba was back at Stamford Bridge just two years later under Jose Mourinho, where he helped lead the club to another Premier League crown.

Paul Pogba – Man Utd

Don't miss a thing with our football updates!

Want to be on the ball with all of the latest football news?

Well then sign up for the brilliant Daily Star football email newsletter!

From the latest transfer news to the agenda-setting stories, get it all in your email inbox – don't miss a thing.

How do you sign up?

It only takes a matter of seconds.

Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article and hit 'subscribe'.

And that's it, job done. You'll receive an email with all of the top news stories every single morning.

You can find out more information on our email newsletter on this link here.

Few will remember anything from Pogba’s first spell at Old Trafford, where he made just three Premier League appearances under Sir Alex Ferguson.

The Frenchman joined Juventus on a free in 2012, where he became one of the best central midfielders in the world.

Then in 2016, United came calling again and forked out a then world-record fee of £89m to bring Pogba back to the club.

Pogba’s current deal at Old Trafford expires at the end of June, meaning he could leave United again next summer for nothing.

Wayne Rooney – Everton

After making a name for himself as a teenager at Everton, Rooney joined United in 2002.

Rooney went on to spend 13 years at Old Trafford, where he won five Premier League trophies, the Champions League, the Europa League, the FA Cup and three League Cup titles.

In 2017, Rooney called time on his United career and re-joined boyhood club Everton for a single season.

Gareth Bale – Tottenham

Few would have thought Bale would have ever returned to Tottenham after he pushed through a move to join Real Madrid in 2013.

Bale had set the Premier League alight, before the Spanish giants came calling and paid a then-world-record fee for the Welshman.

Things started so well for Bale at Real Madrid, but things quickly turned sour when then-boss Zinedine Zidane froze him out.

Spurs snapped up the chance to bring Bale back to north London on loan last season, but the move didn’t work out in the way it was hoped, and the Welshman returned to Los Blancos in the summer.

Nemanja Matic – Chelsea

Matic joined Chelsea on a four-year deal in 2009 from Slovakian side Kosice.

But like with Pogba, there was little to talk regarding Matic’s first spell in West London.

Two Premier League appearances and two years later, Matic left the Blues for Portuguese giants Benfica.

And after making a name for himself in Portugal, the Serbian defensive midfielder was brought back to Chelsea in 2013 by Mourinho for £21m.

Matic helped Chelsea to two league titles, before leaving the club once again in 2017 in favour of a move to Old Trafford.

Source: Read Full Article