Arjen Robben returns to boyhood club FC Groningen
Arjen Robben has returned to boyhood club FC Groningen as he looks to make a sensational comeback.
The legendary Dutch winger called time on his career after one final Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich last term but appears to have got the itch to get back into professional football.
๐ BREAKING:
ARJEN ROBBEN = BACK ๐#Robbenreturns pic.twitter.com/fpoNJEg6Tg
— FC Groningen English (@FCGroningen_EN) June 27, 2020
On Saturday, Groningen, who Robben joined as a 12-year old, confirmed the former Chelsea and Real Madrid man is training with the club in hope of building his fitness and working his way into the squad for next season’s Eredivisie campaign.
Robben made his debut for Groningen as a 16-year old and went on to become the club’s youngest ever goalscorer before joining PSV and winning the Dutch top flight.
He then won back-to-back Premier League titles with Chelsea and lifted La Liga as a Real Madrid player before producing his best form in a Bayern Munich shirt after joining in 2009.
In ten seasons in Bavaria, he scored 144 goals in 309 appearances – the majority of which came from him predictably cutting in from the right flank and scoring the exact same goal.
Arjen Robben comes out of retirement to help his boyhood club Groningen during this hard time for the team. ๐ https://t.co/acK9FKW0Y9
— Bundesliga Nyari (@Cnyari) June 27, 2020
He won eight Bundesliga titles in total and scored the goal that sealed the Champions League trophy and subsequent treble under Jupp Heynckes in 2012/13.
Just over a year ago Robben decided to put his wand of a left peg to rest after a glittering 19-year stint in the game but now, aged 36, he dreams of going back to where it all began for him.
The former Netherlands international admitted he was getting an “itch” to return to action in April.
“Of course, it still itches in my feet from time to time, that will probably always stay that way. Maybe I would like to play a bit again. From time to time I still have this feeling,” he explained.
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Brazilian side Botafogo were said to have offered Robben a route back into the game but he will now do so with his boyhood club.
He will hold a press conference tomorrow to discuss his comeback plan in greater detail.