It has been rumored that Sergio Kun Aguero is preparing to return to professional football after being forced out to early retirement at 33 due to heart failure. Here are some football players who returned from retirement:
1. Paul Scholes
On January 8, 2012, more than six months after announcing his retirement, Scholes was named on the bench for the Manchester derby.
It was a surprise to his team-mates because they didn’t know he was returning until they got into the dressing room that day.
2. Jens Lehmann
Having left Arsenal in 2008, Lehmann called it a day in 2010 but returned a year later when three of Arsene Wenger’s goalkeepers were out injured.
Lehmann put aside his feud with Manuel Almunia to sign as back-up, but after the Spaniard was injured in the warm-up ahead of a clash with Blackpool, the 42-year-old stepped in and played his part in a 3-1 win.
3. Johan Cruyff
Following his initial retirement in 1978, Cruyff cited financial reasons for his prompt return to football with Los Angeles Aztecs, having reportedly been scammed in Spain with false investments. According to Cruff, “I had lost millions in pig farming and that was the reason I decided to become a footballer again.” He said. He played for six years after, including a successful return to Holland with boyhood club Ajax and Feyenoord.
4. Robbie Rogers
Having been released by Leeds aged 25, Rogers chose to retire from the game, and also announced that he is gay.
Stating he felt like a coward for not “stepping up to the plate”, he signed for LA Galaxy just a few months later and became the first openly gay athlete to play in a top American professional sports league. Now retired permanently due to persistent injuries.
5. Arjen Robben
Robben enjoyed an illustrious career at PSV, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich but announced his retirement in 2019 after citing the toll injuries had taken on him.
But the winger seemed to regret his decision and enjoyed a comeback with boyhood club FC Groningen in 2020-21.
“I was 12 when I started playing in FC Groningen’s youth academy,” he said in a video posted on Groningen’s Twitter account.
“I made my home debut against Feyenoord when I was 16. After two years I made a transfer to PSV Eindhoven. After a wonderful adventure of 18 years, we’re coming home.”
6. Stephen Carr
After being released by Newcastle at the end of the season, Carr chose to hang up his boots in 2008 as he couldn’t find a club. He did promptly return, however, signing for Birmingham in 2009. Twelve years after winning the League Cup with Tottenham, Carr captained the Blues to glory with a famous victory over Arsenal.
