Gareth Bale: The Premier League stars who have returned to former clubs
- Published
Tottenham re-sign Bale from Real Madrid - watch some of his best Spurs goals
Gareth Bale is back at Tottenham Hotspur after seven years away as he bids to revive a career that has seen him left on the fringes at Real Madrid.
The excitement among Spurs fans is obvious, with social media abuzz about Bale's return, confirmed on Saturday afternoon, but will it be a successful return to North London?
Bale isn't the first player to return to a former club, with plenty of others rejoining a side where they had already made their name - with mixed success.
BBC Sport takes a look at some other 'homecomings' in the Premier League era and wants you to vote on which returnee had the most impact.
Didier Drogba
Club: Chelsea (2004-12, 2014-15)
Didier Drogba ended his second spell at Chelsea with another Premier League winners medal
Arguably Chelsea's best striker of the Premier League era, returning to Stamford Bridge in 2014 certainly didn't do the Ivorian's reputation any harm.
In his first spell at the club, Drogba won 10 major trophies, including three Premier League titles and a Champions League - an honour he secured with his last kick for the club (or so he thought).
But, despite going out on such a high, he returned just two years later and ended that season being chaired off the pitch by his team-mates after winning a fourth Premier League title, at the age of 37.
Robbie Fowler
Club: Liverpool (1993-2001, 2006-7)
Robbie Fowler is Liverpool's sixth highest goalscorer of all time
One of the more out-of-the-blue footballing returns.
Fowler - or 'God' as Liverpool fans often call him - looked as though he was a player on the decline in late 2005 as injury and lack of form saw him on the fringes of things at Manchester City.
There were few signs of what was to come when, in January 2006, City cancelled Fowler's contract and Liverpool announced they had agreed a deal to bring back the club legend.
It was never going to be as successful as his first spell at Anfield - which saw him score 171 goals in 330 games before joining Leeds for £11m in 2001 - but it wasn't bad either.
He bagged another dozen goals, seeing him overtake Kenny Dalglish to move sixth in the list of the club's all-time top goalscorers.
Thierry Henry
Club: Arsenal (1999-2007, 2012 (loan))
Thierry Henry is Arsenal's all-time leading goalscorer with 228 goals
Arsenal fans couldn't believe their luck when the club's greatest ever goalscorer returned for a two-month loan spell from New York in 2012.
Henry, who initially joined Arsenal from Juventus for £10.5m in 1999, claimed two Premiership titles and three FA Cups in his first spell with the Gunners and became the club's top goalscorer.
His short return was never going to hit those heights, but coming off the bench to score a late Emirates winner in the FA Cup against Leeds in his first match back is a moment Gunners fans will never forget.
He also scored the winning goal in a Premier League win over Sunderland in his last game on loan.
Paul Pogba
Club: Man Utd (2011-12, 2016 to present)
Paul Pogba has made 111 appearances for Manchester United in the Premier League
The France midfielder left Old Trafford for Juventus for £1.5m after just seven first-team appearances in 2012 as a 19-year-old.
"I don't think he showed us any respect at all so, to be honest, I'm quite happy," said then manager Alex Ferguson about his exit.
Four years later and United broke the world record to re-sign him for £89m.
Juninho
Club: Middlesbrough (1995-97, 1999-2000 (loan), 2002-04)
Juninho enjoyed three spells at Middlesbrough
What a player.
Middlesbrough fans will never forget the Brazilian's first spell at the club, where he made an immediate impact after a £4.75m move from Sao Paolo in November 1995.
The midfielder helped Boro reach both the FA Cup and League Cup finals in 1997, but could not prevent relegation from the Premiership the same year, subsequently leaving for Atletico Madrid for £12m.
He first rejoined the club on loan in September 1999, but he was not able to reproduce the inspirational form of his first spell after suffering a leg injury.
Boro did not give up though and he signed for a third spell for £6m in 2002. And this time it was to have a happy ending as he helped Middlesbrough to the Carling Cup and to qualify for Europe in 2004.
Jermain Defoe
Club: Tottenham (2004-08, 2009-14)
Jermain Defoe ended with 143 goals in 363 Tottenham appearances
Tottenham are no strangers to re-signing former players.
After joining Spurs for the first time from West Ham in 2004 for £7m, Defoe scored 64 times in 177 appearances, form which saw him become a regular in the England squad.
He spent a season at Portsmouth in 2008-09 before returning to White Hart Lane, where he scored a further 79 goals in 186 matches - ending as Spurs' sixth highest goalscorer of all time.
Wayne Rooney
Club: Everton (2002-04, 2017-18)
Wayne Rooney ended his second spell at Everton after just one season
Rooney scored 17 goals in 77 games in his first spell at Goodison before joining Manchester United for £27m in 2004.
He won five Premier League titles and each of the Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup once, before rejoining his boyhood club in July 2017.
He ended his first season back at Goodison Park as the Toffees' top scorer, but he opted to join Major League Soccer side DC United just a year after returning.
Sol Campbell
Club: Arsenal (2001-06, 2010)
Sol Campbell won two Premier League titles with Arsenal
Not many saw this one coming.
Campbell had spent five years at Arsenal between 2001-2006, during which time he won two Premier League titles, three FA Cups and scored in the 2006 Champions League final defeat by Barcelona.
After a three-year spell at Portsmouth, the defender walked out of Notts County days after making his debut and, with limited options aged 35, he decided to prove his fitness by training at his old club.
He did enough to impress former boss Arsene Wenger to earn a return to the Gunners in January 2010, and made a number of Premier League starts that season before leaving for Newcastle.
If you are viewing this page on the BBC News app please click here to vote., external