9 footballers who returned to old clubs and had uncomfortable homecomings | OneFootball

Football fandom can be pretty fickle at times. One moment, supporters can be cheering on a player but a misplaced pass or two can quickly help bring on the boos. Of course, the most efficient way to lose the faith of a fanbase is by joining their biggest rivals.

For obvious reasons, this doesn't happen too often, but over the years there have still been plenty of examples. Sometimes, however, it's not necessarily about who you join, but rather, how you leave. Take for instance, Gianluigi Donnarumma.

The Italian goalkeeper left AC Milan in the summer of 2021, allowing his contract to expire so he could join Paris Saint-Germain for free. He returned to the San Siro this week and consequently received a pretty nasty reception from the home fans. This got us thinking, which players have had to suffer through the uncomfortable homecomings after returning to play against their old clubs? Well, starting with Donnarumma, we've compiled a list for you to enjoy below.

Gianluigi Donnarumma - AC Milan 2-1 PSG - 7th November 2023

As mentioned before, the 24-year-old returned to his boyhood club this week with PSG in the Champions League. Having come through the academy to break into the senior team as a 16-year-old, it looked as though Donnarumma would be standing between the sticks in Milan for many years to come.

As we all know, this scenario didn't play out as he later moved to France. Feeling that money was his main motivation for leaving, AC Milan fans have since dubbed him 'Dollarumma' and when he returned to the San Siro, they hurled thousands of fake banknotes onto the pitch. The number 71 was printed on the notes, which means a ‘man without values’, as reported by GOAL. The home supporters booed and jeered all night and got the last laugh as PSG conceded twice to lose the game 2-1.

Romelu Lukaku - Inter Milan 1-0 Roma - 29th October 2023

Just weeks before Donnarumma's awkward visit to the San Siro, the very same venue welcomed home another perceived Judas. This time around it was Romelu Lukaku who took on former side Inter Milan with Roma as the Belgian and his new teammates lost 1-0.

He was once adored by those fans but things soured when he left for Chelsea. He came back on loan a season later and just when the relationship looked to have been repaired, he angered supporters again by heading to Roma, having also been linked with Inter’s arch-rivals Juventus during the same summer. Lukaku was greeted by 40,000 whistles which were handed out pre-game by the club's ultras.

Carlos Tevez - Manchester United 4-3 Manchester City - 20th September 2009

Going back a few years ago to one of the most entertaining games in Premier League history, Carlos Tevez felt the full fury of Old Trafford after he took on the Red Devils with new club Manchester City early on in the 2009/10 season. The Argentine had controversially left Manchester United for their biggest rivals and was treated his true contempt upon his return.

The result was miserable enough as Tevez's replacement Michael Owen netted a 96th-minute winner, but literally adding to the pain, one supporter hurled a from the Stretford End which struck City defender Javier Garrido. As quoted in the Daily Mail, a shocked Tevez said: "It was incredible because I have never seen something like that happen in the two years I played at Old Trafford. If this person really has thrown the object at me then he is wrong and it would be right if United were to exclude him from matches."

Michael Owen - Liverpool 2-0 Manchester United - 25th October 2009

Sticking with the aforementioned Owen, while his derby day goal may have given him glory at Old Trafford, when he returned to Anfield as a Red Devil the Liverpool fans did not hide their feelings of betrayal. The game ended 2-0 with the Reds actually ending their worst sequence of results since 1987. Owen came off the bench and couldn't help change the game in United's favour as he received a "venomous reaction" from the crowd, which included cries of "Judas."

Speaking on the Greatest Game podcast (via The Mirror), Owen spoke about how hard it has been to return as a villain to the club he loves, saying: "It has been painful going back to Anfield. Crying in the players' lounge and hoping nobody sees. It has been torture for a long time. It is like splitting up with your wife. I can only blame myself, I said yes to Real Madrid. I still love Liverpool."

Sol Campbell - Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Arsenal - 18th November 2001

One of the most high-profile transfers of all time was when Sol Campbell shocked English football and swapped Tottenham Hotspur for north London rivals Arsenal. With balloons bearing the word 'Judas' floating around White Hart Lane, Gustavo Poyet netted in the 90th minute to rule out Robert Pires's goal as both teams had to settle for a draw.

Speaking on talkSPORT, Ray Parlour said it was one of the scariest games he played in: “The fiercest game I’ve ever been in was Sol Campbell’s first game back a White Hart Lane – woah! I’ll always remember coming out [of the stadium], we got pelters, we got all sorts of things thrown at our coach.”

Luis Figo - Barcelona 0 - 0 Real Madrid - 23rd November 2002

Perhaps one move that tops Campbell's when it comes to controversy was when Luis Figo swapped Barcelona for Real Madrid in in 2000. The winger had been a hero for the Catalan club – winning La Liga twice among many other awards – but his move to Los Blancos broke many hearts.

That pain turned to anger in what was actually his second appearance back at the Nou Camp since leaving. When he went to take a corner, lighters, coins, and plastic bottles were thrown from the stands onto the pitch around Figo, who had picked up an early yellow card for a poor tackle. What sticks in the memory, as simply unforgettable, though was the pig's head which ended up on the turf beside him. Riot police made their presence known pitchside and the referee did actually suspend the match for 16 minutes before play resumed in what ended up being a 0-0 draw.

Mario Gotze - Borussia Dortmund 0-3 Bayern Munich - 23rd November 2013

Unfortunately for Mario Gotze, news of his big-money move to rivals Bayern Munich was revealed while he was still a Borussia Dortmund player. Indeed, in the space of just a few days, he went from hero to zero and was subsequently booed every time he got the ball in a Champions League semi-final win against Real Madrid.

The following season, now playing for Bayern Munich, he returned to Signal Iduna Park and antagonised his old fanbase even more by scoring the opening goal of the game in a 3-0 win against the team he joined as an eight-year-old. He didn't celebrate the goal but this didn't help prevent the boos raining down from the terraces throughout Der Klassiker.

Mo Johnston - Celtic 1-1 Rangers - 26th August 1989

Mo Johnston did the unthinkable in July 1989 when he turned down the opportunity to rejoin Celtic and instead joined Rangers. In doing so, he became the first openly Catholic player to sign for the Ibrox club since the time of World War I and sparked predictable rage.

A crowd of 54,000 made its way to Parkhead to see the player's first appearance at his old home ground in a Rangers jersey. “Judas”, “traitor” and much worse was shouted at him in what was an absolute cauldron of hate. Such is the rivalry between the clubs, there were Rangers fans who supposedly wouldn't cheer his goals but even they may have let out a little cry of delight when he scored a late winner in the following Old Firm clash a few months later.

Eric Cantona - Leeds United 0-0 Manchester United - 9th Febuary 1993

While Leeds United's fortunes have faded in recent years, this remains one of the fiercest rivalries in English football. And so, when Eric Cantona made the move to Manchester United for £1m he quickly became public enemy number one at Elland Road.

The game ended up 0-0 in what was an absorbing stalemate, made all the more interesting by the first appearance of the Frenchman back on his old stomping ground. Phil Shaw of the Independent wrote at the time: "Cantona was booed at every turn and booked into the bargain." He ended up "giving a peripheral performance," perhaps put off by the vicious crowd.