Roberto Firmino’s contract with Liverpool expires this summer
‘Never return’. The old adage makes sense, though it isn’t always followed in the football world.
When a player or manager returns to a former team, there is always the fear that the second stint will not be as successful as the first. After all, nostalgia is part of what drives the desire to return and relive the glory days of yesteryear.
Some may laugh in the face of such a warning. Only a year ago, Liverpool was on the receiving end when Carlo Ancelotti capped his first season back at Real Madrid by defeating them in the Champions League final.
However, in terms of playing, the initial exit usually occurs when a player’s best years are still ahead of them. They leave to take the next step up, and they only return if it doesn’t work out or if they start to decline.
Due to the limited lifespan of a professional footballer at the elite level, it’s understandably uncommon for a player to enjoy his peak years at a club, move on and take a step down, and then return for an Indian summer. Consider any famous returnee, and the aforementioned mitigating circumstances are almost always likely to apply.
The Reds have several examples that fit this narrative. After six productive years at Anfield, Ian Rush made his Juventus debut in 1987 at the age of 25. He’d return to Liverpool a year later after failing to find a home in Turin, and while he’d still score plenty of goals, he’d only win one league title, two FA Cups, and a League Cup during his eight-year second spell.
Robbie Fowler was 26 when he was forced to leave Liverpool for Leeds United, despite the fact that he had never wanted to leave the Reds in the first place. After joining the financially troubled Leeds United, he was off to Manchester City a little more than a year later. But, due to injuries, he was no longer the same productive forward he had been.
Rafa Benitez re-signed him as a 30-year-old in January 2006, and he proved to be a valuable squad member for 18 months. But, as he navigated veteran status, he was ultimately nothing more.
Steve Staunton was only 22 years old when he was sold to Aston Villa in August 1991, after winning the league and FA Cup with Liverpool. In reality, he was only moved on because he was classified as a foreign player at the time, and there was a limit on the number of such players a club could field at any given time (four). He returned to Anfield on a free transfer in July 1998, at the age of 29, but was back at Villa Park 18 months later, with his second Reds stint coming to an end.
Craig Bellamy, who spent two mixed one-year stints with Liverpool, is perhaps an exception, but only in the sense that his second stint was more successful than his first. He was 27 when he first joined his boyhood club, but he didn’t get along with Benitez and was let go after an underwhelming season that saw him used less and less as the 2006/07 season progressed, as the Reds made room for Fernando Torres.
Kenny Dalglish re-signed the Welshman on a free transfer from Manchester City in August 2011 at the age of 32, and he impressed under the Scot, helping Liverpool win the League Cup before leaving on a free transfer for hometown club Cardiff City.
Meanwhile, while Michael Owen never returned to Liverpool after leaving for Real Madrid in the summer of 2004, despite numerous attempts, the rest of his career shows that he, too, would have been on the decline.
So that was a lesson learned. Never go back, no matter how sentimental and nostalgic it may make you feel.
That’s why, at the age of 31, Roberto Firmino suggested that he might return to Liverpool one day as a player, he raised eyebrows. On Saturday, the Brazilian scored a last-minute equalizer against Aston Villa in his final appearance at Anfield before leaving at the end of his contract this summer.
And, speaking to journalists ahead of the Reds’ final home game of the season, he teased a possible return.
“It’s time, unfortunately,” he said when asked about his decision to leave Anfield after falling down the pecking order. “The cycle here has ended, and I realize it is time for me to leave.”
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to return one day, but it’s time for me to go.” Return as a coach? Maybe! You never, ever say never. I’m not sure what will happen to my future. It could be for fun, you never know.”
Firmino’s next destination is unknown, as he has been linked with clubs in Spain, Italy, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. In any case, after scoring 110 goals in eight seasons at Anfield and winning every major award on offer, wherever the Brazilian goes next will be a step down.
Jurgen Klopp admitted in March that despite wanting the forward to sign a new contract, he was caught off guard when the 31-year-old informed him that he would be leaving. Despite falling behind Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, and Cody Gakpo in the pecking order, no one will deny Firmino the chance to play more regularly elsewhere.
After all, as James Milner said of his own impending departure from Liverpool, after discussing a possible coaching role at Anfield: “It would be a shame to stop when you’ve still got a bit of life in you.” Firmino, it appears it would be a shame to give up on starting regularly while you still have some life in you.
But perhaps it’s because of this that his suggestion of a Reds return isn’t as ridiculous as it first appears. Liverpool have certainly had the best years of the Brazilian’s career, but he is still young enough to be first-choice elsewhere. But maybe in a few years, when he’s at that next stage of his career and’ready’ to accept backup, he’ll reconsider.
After all, it worked for Didier Drogba at Chelsea. The Ivorian was 34 years old when he first left Stamford Bridge, joining Shanghai Shenhua on a free transfer in May 2012, before spending 18 months with Galatasaray.
First-choice for both, he returned to Chelsea as a 36-year-old free agent in July 2014, enjoying a respectable season as a squad option. He scored seven goals and assisted two more in 40 appearances for the Londoners, who won the Premier League and League Cup.
Gianluigi Buffon is another well-known veteran returnee, having spent two seasons with Juventus. After a hugely successful 17-year stint in Turin, he moved to Paris Saint-Germain in July 2018 at the age of 40. Despite this, he returned to the Old Lady 12 months later, where he spent two seasons as the most experienced of understudies to Wojciech Szczesny. He would leave again in June 2021 after winning Serie A and the Coppa Italia.
Of course, Firmino’s hints and teases come at the most emotional of times, as he prepares to leave Merseyside after eight years. It’s a raw sensation, tinged with sentiment and nostalgia, and an exit that no one is prepared for. It’s never easy to say goodbye,
“Nothing is forever, that’s how it is,” Klopp would tell reporters after Firmino’s departure last week. Nothing, however, is impossible.
.The current role Liverpool has for the Brazilian may not suit him, but who’s to say it won’t in the future? Yes, he would be older and past his prime, with regular starts still unavailable, but at such a hypothetical crossroads, both player and club would be on the same page.
Firmino could still get his dream transfer if a return to Anfield makes sense for both parties. Never mind ‘never go back’. Let’s stick with ‘never say never’ after the forward’s hint of a return.
Leave a Reply