Sokker.ru talks about such examples.

After Gareth Bale’s departure from Real Madrid, many options can be imagined to continue his career for him. In club football, the Welshman’s reputation seems hopelessly shaken. At the same time, at the level of the Wales national team, he is a true hero who helped lead the team to the World Cup for the first time in 64 years. Bale himself understands that the only possibility to restart his career is to cling to the national team until the end.

Therefore, when he left Real Madrid as a free agent, he stressed that the next club he would choose based on the interests of his family and the opportunity to prepare in the best possible way for world Cup-2022. And then, among other options, Cardiff City suddenly appeared. Such a deep return to basics no longer seems unrealistic and the modest league club is in talks with the 32-year-old star in hopes that he will give up a substantial portion of his £ 554,000 stipend for the opportunity to be at home in comfort. .

The deal with Cardiff is shocking but not new in the world of football, where stars in their 30s and 40s don’t often go home to modest clubs to finish their careers. Let’s take a look at other examples.

Henrik Larsson (Hegaborg)

Born in Helsingborg, Larsson joined the local club Hegaborg at the age of six before making his debut with them in 1989. Four years later he moved to Helsingborg where he scored 50 goals in 56 games. Larsson’s prolific career at Celtic (174 goals in 221 games) was preceded by four seasons at Feyenoord from 1993-1997 and then two years at Barcelona.

In 2006, he returned to Helsingborg, from where he briefly watched Manchester United and Roo. Larsson promised to return to Hegaborg to finish his career there, but injuries prevented him from doing so. Yet, in 2013, at 43, Henrik still looked at Hegaborg when he faced a scourge of injuries. There he also had the opportunity to enter the field with his son Jordan.

Diego Milito (Racing)

The Avellaneda race has a “modest” name – “Football Academy”. It is because of the club’s ability to grow stars. Diego Milito graduated from this academy, where he played from 1999 to 2003. Then there were Genoa and Zaragoza, but Milito really became a star at Inter, where he arrived in 2009. There he scored 75 goals and scored 29. assists, he became the best player of the 2009/10 season, won the league and the Italian Cup, as well as the Champions League. Milito returned to Racing in 2014 and played his last game at the age of 36.

Robin van Persie (Feyenoord)

The former Arsenal and Manchester United star made his Feyenoord debut from his native Rotterdam at the age of 17 in the 2001/02 season. In 2004, the Dutchman moved to Arsenal, where he scored 132 goals in 278 games. There he established himself in the status of world football star and one of the top scorers in the English league. The controversial passage of him to Manchester United it may have affected reputation, but not performance. And when England became too heavy for Robin, he moved to Fenerbahce. He spent three years there and returned to Feyenoord in 2018.

Dirk Keith (“Quick Guys”)

At the age of five, Keith began his football career in the humbler Quick Boys amateurs, where he was noticed by Utrecht, from which the professional career of the Dutchman began. Keith spent five seasons there and moved to Feyenoord in 2003. In his debut season, he scored 20 goals and two years later became the captain of the Rotterdam team.

The Quick Boys received a windfall of £ 300,000 as a percentage after Keith’s transfer to Liverpool in 2006. At Anfield, Dirk spent six years scoring 71 goals in 285 games. Then there was a route almost like van Persie’s: through Fenerbahce and Feyenoord. Keith announced his retirement in 2017, but a year later he decided to play for the Quick Boys again to help the team move up to the third division. And he helped!

Fernando Torres (Atletico Madrid)

But Torres’ home club turned out to be much less modest. Fernando joined Atlético at the age of 11 in 1995 and made his first team debut six years later. He didn’t win a trophy in the first heat, but scored 90 goals before moving to Liverpool in 2007. There, Fernando quickly became one of the main characters and favorites, and at the same time transformed himself into one of the symbols of the triumphant. Spanish team.

Atlético signed Torres again in 2015, when the striker had overtaken Chelsea and Milan. In Madrid for three years, Fernando was able to slightly restore the lost reputation after a visit to Chelsea. It should be noted that Torres did not stop at Atletico and went to Japan, where he ended his career, and then led the youth team of the “mattress”.

Wayne Rooney (Everton)

Raised as an Everton fan, Rooney made his debut for the team at the age of 16. In October 2002, he scored the iconic winner of the match against Arsenal at the end of the match, ending the Gunners’ 30-game streak. In 2004, Rooney moved to Manchester United, where he played until 2017, becoming a true legend there. FROM Manchester United he won all he could.

He returned to Everton in 2017. Although it turned out not to be the end of a career and was quite short. In doing so, he surpassed the all-time 200 Premier League goals, becoming the second player of his kind behind Alan Shearer. After a second visit to the Toffees, there was a trip to DC United and Rooney ended his career at Derby County, where he became head coach in 2020.

Gianluigi Buffon (Parma)

The legendary goalkeeper began his career more than 30 years ago at Parma. After four years in the youth academy, Buffon made his debut with Parma in 1995. In 2001 Juventus obtained Buffon, who won 18 important trophies in the Turin club and became its symbol. There was a short entrance in PSG, then there was the return to Juventus, where Buffon no longer became the main goalkeeper. But then he went to Parma and remembered his youth. Last season he made 26 appearances for Parma in Serie B.

Carlos Tevez (Boca Juniors)

Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Tevez began his career in 2001 with Boca Juniors before moving to Corinthians four seasons later. In January 2007, West Ham brought Tevez to England and his impressive performance attracted Manchester United. After five trophies Manchester United, including winning the Champions League, Tevez made a controversial move to Manchester City. He helped the Citizens win their first league title, scoring 70 goals in four seasons. A two-year stay at Juventus preceded his first return to Boca. From there he went to Shanghai Shenhua, then soon returned to Boca Juniors, where he played until the end of his career.