5 players who have returned to their former clubs this summer

FC Barcelona Sign Eric Garcia as a free agent
FC Barcelona Sign Eric Garcia as a free agent

#3 Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)

Club Atletico de Madrid v Sevilla FC - La Liga
Club Atletico de Madrid v Sevilla FC - La Liga

Talking about crazy transfers this summer, one cannot just skip the most unexpected transfer that took place on the deadline day. It is no secret that the Frenchman struggled during his time at Barcelona. He managed to score 35 goals in 99 appearances in the two years he spent with the Catalan club. It can be termed as underperforming, especially when he managed to score 133 goals in 257 appearances for Atletico Madrid.

The World Cup winner had signed for Barcelona in 2019 after the Spanish giants paid €120 million to sign him from Atletico Madrid. The match didn't work out and as a result, Griezmann is back with Atletico right now. He's returned on a one-year loan, which can be extended by a year, after which Atletico will be obligated to sign him for €40 million in 2023.

The transfer seems to be a good deal for Atletico and might turn out to be successful should Griezmann win the La Liga this season.

#2 Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea)

Arsenal v Chelsea - Premier League
Arsenal v Chelsea - Premier League

The 28-year old Belgian has had a mixed career so far. He started his career by playing for Anderlecht in Belgium. In 2011, he was signed by Chelsea. The following year the London club sent the Belgian striker on loan to West Bromwich Albion. The year after that Lukaku went on loan to Everton after which he was signed by the Toffees on a permanent basis.

Excluding the loan period, he spent three years at Everton, during which he scored 53 goals in 110 appearances. He made a name for himself whilst playing on Merseyside, which eventually earned him a move to Manchester United in 2017. Somehow, the move did not work out as United saw managerial and tactical changes and Lukaku struggled to find his rhythm.

Lukaku then went on to join Inter Milan in 2019 to play under Antonio Conte. In his second season at Inter, the former Everton man played a vital role in winning Serie A. He scored 64 goals in 95 apperances for the Italian team. It looked as if he had settled at Inter for a long duration but Conte's departure changed things.

Chelsea came knocking this summer as they sought a goal machine to lead their frontline. The offer was too tempting for Lukaku to turn down and he eventually ended up back at Chelsea in the summer transfer window. Chelsea paid a club-record fee of £97.5 million to bring Lukaku to Stamford Bridge.

#1 Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

Arsenal v Manchester United - UEFA Champions League Semi Final
Arsenal v Manchester United - UEFA Champions League Semi Final

This has to be the mother of all homecomings. Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United are a match made in heaven. Ronaldo started his career with Sporting Lisbon in Portugal. But it was at Manchester United that Ronaldo got the recognition and development that a talent like his needed.

Ronaldo was a delight to watch at United during his six years as he dribbled past players with utter ease and created and scored goals at will. The Portugal captain then decided to join Real Madrid in 2009. At Real Madrid, Ronaldo took his game on to another level, winning plenty of accolades both as an individual and as a team.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner then left for Juventus in 2018 for a new challenge. Although Ronaldo managed to win Serie A twice in his three years with the Old Lady, it looked like something was missing. At the start of the new season this summer, Ronaldo expressed his intention to leave Juventus.

This instigated a series of rumors and one of them was that a verbal agreement was reached between Ronaldo and Manchester City for a transfer this summer. The move didn't work out as City pulled out of the deal as they felt the overall cost of the transfer was too high.

It was then when Manchester United swooped in and there was no looking back for Ronaldo, especially with Sir Alex Ferguson involved.

United signed Ronaldo this summer for €15 million plus €8 million in add-ons. The Portuguese even agreed for a pay-cut to play at the Theater of Dreams. It was a transfer that United fans had been longing for a very long time. It can really help United turn things around and strongly challenge for the Premier League title.

Notable mentions: Gianluigi Buffon (Parma), Tom Heaton (Manchester United) & Felipe Anderson (Lazio)

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Edited by Aditya Singh
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