Culers who left Barça...and then came back again
Oriol Romeu arrives at Barça from Girona and so returns to the Club where he started his career. The Catalan midfielder played in the various youth categories before reaching the Barça B squad for the 2008/09 season. Following spells with Chelsea, Valencia, Stuttgart, Southampton and Girona, Romeu returns to Barça for the 2023/24 season.
Stoichkov, big name return
There have been many names who have returned to Barça over the years and one of the biggest was Hristo Stoichkov. The Bulgarian striker was part of the 'Dream Team' that was so successful under coach Johan Cruyff in the 1990s. Five seasons into his blaugrana career Stoichkov left for Serie A side AC Parma only to return to FC Barcelona 12 months later.
From La Masia and beyond
In the year 2000 two players who had come up through the youth ranks at La Masia returned to the Club. Ivan de la Peña made his first team debut in 1995/96 but after three seasons he left for Italian club Lazio. A season in Serie A was followed by a campaign in French football with Olympic Marseille before the midfielder returned to Barca. Gerard López was a Barça B player when he moved to Valencia as a 17 year old. In 1998/99 he spent the season with Alavés before coming back to the blaugranes the following year.
Piqué, Cesc and Alba: three stars return
Gerard Piqué and Cesc Fàbregas were part of one of the greatest generations of players at the Club. In 2004 Piqué signed for Manchester United, spending a season on loan at Zaragoza before coming back to Barça in 2008 to begin what would be a stellar career as a blaugrana which only came to an end a few months ago. Cesc Fàbregas departed for Arsenal in 2003 to return to Barça some eight seasons later.
Another famous name who made a return to Barça was Jordi Alba. The left back was part of the La Masia youth set up for seven seasons before leaving for UE Cornellà and then Valencia where he spent five seasons, including one year on loan at Nástic de Tarragona. The defender from Hospitalet came back to Barça in 2012 and became one of the most important players in possibly the greatest era for the team.
Other names to return to the Club in recent season after beginning their careers at La Masia include Aleix Vidal (2015), Denis Suárez (2016) and Gerard Deulofeu (2017)
In 2021 Eric Garcia also came back to Barça after signing for Manchester City for the 2018/19 season where he spent three seasons under coach Pep Guardiola.
Adama, Bellerín and Romeu, most recent examples
The most recent names to return to the Club prior to Oriol Romeu were Adama Traoré and Héctor Bellerín. Both players came through the youth ranks before leaving Barça only to return in 2022 to Xavi's squad. Now Oriol Romeu is the latest name to join this impressive list.