With Neymar recently making his return to Santos, we take a look back at when other notable footballers came back to clubs they broke out with.
For professional footballers, “home” can have many definitions. It could mean the place they spend their increasingly curtailed offseasons with their families. Or a particular stadium they’ve grown fond of playing in.
But in this particular case, we’re looking at the club where it all began — where they were introduced to the world as a star that would captivate millions of fans. Oftentimes, players are the most comfortable in the club they broke out with — as the saying goes, “home is where the heart is.”
The Botafogo SP players all wanting photos with Neymar after the match 🤣 pic.twitter.com/o10JvdjqET
— Brasil Football 🇧🇷 (@BrasilEdition) February 6, 2025
Last week, we saw a homecoming that took countless 20-somethings back to their childhood years. Neymar has returned to Santos.
While the early 2010s were dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, there was a Brazilian wunderkind at Santos ready to take over the throne Ronaldinho left him. Neymar Jr, a slight and skinny teenager with prodigious vision and inexplicable power, was next up to continue the Joga Bonito legacy of the Seleção.
Everyone across the world was tuning in to Neymar at Santos, whether it was on television or through YouTube highlights. We watched him lead Santos to a Copa Libertadores title, the club’s first in nearly 50 years that dated back to its Pele days. We sat in awe at his Puskas-award-winning goal that officially put him on the map. And we witnessed him face Barcelona in the Club World Cup final, where fearlessly stole the show. A move that foreshadowed his future in Blaugrana stripes.
Fast forward to 2025, and Neymar is coming off the two worst years of his career, which saw a torn ACL and a total of seven games played for Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal. Having just turned 33, his days in football could be over soon, and he has his sights set on the 2026 World Cup as his last mission.
With all the misfortune that has occurred over the years, Neymar needed a fresh start, and there was no better place to do so than where it all began. Santos is in dire need of a spark as well, as the club recently made its return to the first division after being relegated in 2023. While we wait to see if the prince that never became king can rediscover the joy that made him an icon, let’s look back at other football stars that made similar returns to clubs they broke out with.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Neymar’s return to Santos was a surprise, but there was no bigger shock than the return of Cristiano Ronaldo to Manchester United in 2021. While he made his pro debut with Sporting CP in his native Portugal, it was with United that the legendary forward truly made his name. From 2003 to 2009, Ronaldo’s ascension to stardom saw three Premier League triumphs, a Champions League trophy, and a Ballon d’Or, which alongside a handful of other domestic and international titles, kickstarted his now vast trophy collection.
The best player in the world drew the attention of Real Madrid, and as good as Manchester United were at the time, the allure of Los Blancos was too tantalizing to pass up on.
United would be OK without Ronaldo in the short run, winning a pair of EPL titles in 2011 and 2013, but the club truly never replaced him. Throughout Ronaldo’s years with Madrid, he’d be linked with a return to Manchester, but most of the time it was just typical transfer gossip.
However, in the summer of 2021, there was some substance beneath the rumor. It was quite clear Ronaldo was leaving Juventus, and there were only a select few clubs across Europe that could afford him.
United rejected the opportunity at first, already being well-equipped in the attacking department with the likes of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Edinson Cavani, and the then-new arrival Jadon Sancho. But all that changed when Manchester City entered the discussion.
United were understandably disturbed at the notion of a former great going to their bitter rivals, who were also at the peak of their powers, and the club quickly made the decision to snap up Ronaldo to bring him back to where he belonged.
The first game back at Old Trafford was something out of a movie. Adults reliving their childhood seeing their idol returned, the crowd singing “Viva Ronaldo,” and if you were watching on television, Peter Drury’s majestic monologue. The prodigal son had returned to help fix what broke after he left.
His start in Manchester was going well individually, as the goals were still pouring in for the legend, but the team was struggling, which led to the sacking of Ronaldo’s former teammate-turned-manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Interim gaffer Ralf Rangnick walked through the door, but he and Ronaldo did not always see eye to eye.
In the summer, Erik ten Hag was brought in as a permanent hire, and it was a sense of déjà vu for United, as Ronaldo was the subject of various transfer rumors, similar to his first stint in a Red Devils kit. This time around, however, he wasn’t quite the red-hot commodity.
Ronaldo and ten Hag had multiple bust-ups, which saw the five-time Ballon d’Or winner get benched. The kill shot was Ronaldo’s all-out expose interview with Piers Morgan, which threw shots at ten Hag and the United ownership group. Unsurprisingly, his contract was soon terminated, and the homecoming that started with optimism and excitement ended in drama and chaos. Maybe going home isn’t always worth it.
Robbie Fowler
Liverpool in the 1990s saw nowhere near the success of their golden period of the prior decade, but they did enjoy some special players. One of them was Robbie Fowler, one of the greatest English finishers the sport has ever seen.
Fowler enjoyed lots of individual success early in his career for the Scousers, as he won consecutive PFA Young Player of the Year awards in 1995 and 1996. Fowler and Steve McManaman formed one of the most devastating attacking partnerships and gave bright hope to Liverpool’s future.
However, Fowler would fall victim to a major injury in 1997 that led to the rise of another academy striker in Michael Owen. Upon his return, Fowler was far less crucial than he once was, and although he and Owen formed quite the clinical striker partnership, limited club success came with it.
Liverpool wound up signing another English striker in Emile Heskey, which spelled the first stage of failure for Fowler at Liverpool, and he would leave in 2001 to Leeds United. The man Liverpool fans called “God” had left the building.
In the winter of 2006, following his tenure at Leeds and a stint at Manchester City, Fowler was back at Anfield on a one-year contract. The move was adored by fans who welcomed him back in great fashion. Fowler was not a regular starter but still helped with a good chunk of goals and was providing enough to be extended for one more season.
The second season of his return was not as great as the first one, but the striker was still able to get a special goodbye at Anfield wearing the armband in his final ever Liverpool performance.
Fernando Torres
There are typically two names universally associated with Atletico Madrid. The first is Diego Simeone, who has revolutionized the club into one of the biggest in the world. The second is “El Niño,” otherwise known as Fernando Torres. The man who became captain at the age of 19 was one of the main figures of Atletico’s renaissance.
Torres made his debut towards the end of the 2000-01 season at 17, while the team toiled in the Spanish second division. Atletico would return to top flight football in 2002, and Torres found instant success, bagging 13 goals in 29 appearances. He caught the eye of Chelsea’s then-new owner Roman Abramovich, who was eager to sign young superstar talent for his new investment, but Atletico would not budge.
Torres would continue bagging goals for the Rojiblancos, but the interest from the Premier League was unyielding. In 2007, Atleti’s resolve of keeping Torres was finally broken, and they moved him to Liverpool for €25 million.
After an up-and-down time in England, and a short spell in Milan, the boyhood wonder returned home in January of 2015. His impact was immediately felt as Torres would score a brace away at the Bernabeu to eliminate Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey. Torres’ success saw him sign two one-year extensions with the club as the goals kept coming.
He was on the pitch when Atletico won the Europa League and scored a brace in his final ever match for the club against Eibar.
Torres’ time with Atletico may have ended as a player, but he is now the coach of Atletico Madrid B and was previously the coach of their U19s. Some players just cannot stay away from home.
