André Silva joins Pepe, Lucho and Quaresma: FC Porto returns | OneFootball

FC Porto confirmed André Silva’s return this Friday. The striker left Elche and is now beginning his second spell with the Dragons. At the club from the Invicta, there is no shortage of examples of players who returned to the Dragão pitch. Do you remember the most memorable ones?

His first spell wearing the Dragon on his chest came in 2011/12, with the under-17s. Later, he made his first-team debut in 2015/16 and cemented his status the following season, after making 44 appearances and scoring 21 goals.

The performances he produced for FC Porto caught AC Milan’s attention, and the Italian club signed him for 38 million euros.

Who followed similar paths?

As an encouraging sign, the Dragons can look back to Fernando Gomes. Bibota returned to the Dragons after two seasons in Spain with Sporting Gijón and, if the fans already had excellent memories of him, the striker made sure to strengthen them by scoring 50 goals in 39 matches in his comeback season.

Playing deeper on the pitch was Vítor Baía. He left FC Porto at the end of 1995/96 to join Barcelona and returned two years later, staying at the club until retiring in 2006/07.

El Comandante also returned to the Invicta city after leaving the Dragão. Lucho González wore the captain’s armband in both of his spells at FC Porto, separated by two and a half seasons with Marseille.

The king of the trivela is also on this list. Ricardo Quaresma joined the Dragons in 2004/05 after one season at Barcelona. He stayed for four seasons at the Dragão, where he delivered strong performances and impressive numbers. Spells at Internazionale, Chelsea, Besiktas and Al Ahli Club followed before he returned to FC Porto.

The most high-profile return of recent years was probably that of Pepe. The legendary centre-back for Portugal and Real Madrid left the Dragons at the end of 2006/07 and returned in 2018/19, remaining at the club until the end of his career, in 2023/24.

Now it is André Silva’s turn to return to a place where he was once happy. At 30, the striker will be under Francesco Farioli as FC Porto look to defend the national title.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.