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8 Players That Clubs Re-Signed For A Higher Fee

You don’t know what you’ve got, ’til it’s gone.’ A saying that is very relevant in football. Many football clubs let players leave for a small amount only to realise it was a huge mistake a few years later. So, check out 8 players that clubs re-signed for a higher fee!

Paul Pogba

No better place to start. The highest amount a club has paid to re-sign a player – £89m.

Leaving Manchester United in 2012 for around £800k (compensation fee), Paul Pogba joined Juventus where he enjoyed four successful seasons with the Italian giants and made a huge name for himself in world football.

Man United saw the opportunity to bring him back and made sure they did – signing Paul Pogba for a world record fee (at the time) in 2016. The argument of ‘was he worth the money?’ remains a constant debate on social media.

Home. #POGBACK

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Jermain Defoe

Sold for £6m, bought back for £15.75m.

Tottenham were struggling and Redknapp needed goals – so, who better than Jermain Defoe? The striker returned to White Hart Lane and did exactly what he does best.

It was clear the mistake Tottenham made, and it shows having Defoe re-signed for a higher fee (more than double!) only 12 months after letting him go.

Cesc Fabregas

Leaving Barcelona as a 16 year old for Arsenal in 2003, Cesc Fabregas returned to Barcelona in 2011 as a man.

It was one of the biggest transfer sagas that we’ve seen in recent years, and one which saw Barcelona fork out £35m to bring Cesc home.

Cesc Fabregas was still much loved by Arsenal fans – but this was over very soon. After not massively hitting the heights at Barcelona, three years later, Fabregas returned to the Premier League… with Chelsea.

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Diego Costa

The most recent of the lot – Atletico Madrid sold Diego Costa for £32m just three years ago, and three years later he returned for £57m.

Finally! After falling out with Chelsea manager Antonio Conte in January, Costa still played a vital role in Chelsea winning the league. Their relationship didn’t improve however, and Conte still wanted him gone.

After months of back and forth, both Conte and Costa got their wish, and with Atletico Madrid paying a steep amount, Diego Costa moved backed to Atletico Madrid.

Peter Crouch

‘Crouchy’ loves making clubs pay more than they sold him for! Up step Tottenham and Portsmouth.

Tottenham sold Peter Crouch for a mere £60,000 in 2000 when they didn’t deem him good enough to break into the first team. 9 years later, Harry Redknapp went in for his man and Crouch returned to Tottenham for £9m.

Peter also left Portsmouth for £5m in 2001 and returned in 2008 for £11m.

So, an overall £20m mark up for clubs to bring Peter Crouch back! A great mention in players being re-signed for a higher fee – hurting two clubs pride!

Mats Hummels

Mats Hummels left very early in his Bayern Munich career, with only one appearance. Hummels went on to establish himself as not only one of the best defenders in the Bundesliga, but also the world.

Unsurprisingly, this didn’t go unnoticed at Bayern Munich and they realised their mistake that they signed him back for £30m. While also weakening major rivals, Borussia Dortmund, it was a no-brainer for Bayern Munich.

First Bundesliga game with Bayern after a long time was a good one!

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Nemanja Matić

Leaving Chelsea as a makeweight in the deal to sign David Luiz, Nemanja Matić was then signed back by Chelsea in 2014 for £21m.

Struggling to impress during his first spell at Chelsea, he was sold to Benfica, where he impressed massively in a defensive midfield role, which alerted Chelsea to sign him back. It turned out to be an inspired decision by Chelsea, as he went on to win two Premier League titles.

Although Chelsea suffered around a a £20m loss on Nemanja Matić, we reckon they probably don’t care. Anyway, they’ve since made a profit after allowing the player to join Manchester United.

 

Nicolas Anelka

Leaving Paris Saint Germain for £500k to Arsenal in 1997, Nicolas Anelka went on to light up world football at a very young age. Anelka got a huge move to Real Madrid very early on in his career, and unfortunately never settled.

Back came PSG, where Anelka returned for £22m in 2000. Quite the journey in three years and a £21.5m mark-up by PSG, which was a hefty amount back in 2000. Making Anelka one of the biggest players re-signed for a higher fee.

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