A football player’s ambition is boundless. Reaching the highest achievements the game has to offer is a long and arduous journey.
Some players find a team to stay with for their entire career - the great one-club man - while others have to navigate through the leagues to find their peak.
This week, Portuguese defender Pepe re-joined his former club Porto after 12 years away and at the age of 35. "Porto continues to be a very special club for me," said the former Real Madrid defender who joined Turkish side Besiktas in 2017.
He hasn't been alone in wanting to head "home" to a club where the fans would offer a warm welcome and maybe turn a blind eye to any shortcomings which have slipped in during the twilight of the career of a once great player.
Here's a look at five other players who could have been put out to pasture, but decided for one last try:
Kaka
Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, or Kaka as everyone knows him, was a rare breed for Brazilian football. The 6ft 1in midfielder looked and played like a European player. Not without flair, but more clinical and calculated. Kaka would become a household name with Italian giants AC Milan. His performances would earn him a Ballon d’Or in 2007. Two years after winning the coveted award, he moved to Real Madrid. Never able to reach such heights again, Kaka returned to AC Milan in 2013 for one last season, playing 30 games and scoring seven goals for the Rossoneri.
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Santi Cazorla
The Spaniard rose to prominence in the Primera Liga with Villarreal and Malaga, where his skills and pin-point passes earned him a move to Arsenal in 2012. His presence in the Premier League was instantly felt, as he won admiration for being a player who could deliver an accurate pass to anyone on the pitch with both feet. After a horrific injury - described as the worst manager Arsene Wenger had seen - Cazorla was released by Arsenal and was free to join Villarreal. Not as fast as he once was, Cazorla has shown he has at least retained his accuracy, scoring twice against Real Madrid recently.
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Robbie Fowler
A Merseyside cult hero, scoring 120 goals in 236 game for Liverpool, Fowler was a hero on Merseyside. After a number of injuries and the emergence of Michael Owen, he moved to Leeds United in 2001 and then on to Manchester City. At 31, Fowler was not as clinical or as mobile as he once was, but a return to Liverpool was too good to turn down. He played another 30 games for the Reds, scoring eight goals.
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Thierry Henry
French international and Premier League hero Thierry Henry was spending the last seasons of his career at MLS side New York Red Bulls. He had won everything a football player in Europe could win, and decided the lower-pressure environment of America would be preferable. But in January 2012, the chance arose to return to the club where he built his career: Arsenal. The Londoners needed a back-up striker and a two-month fairytale loan spell was confirmed. In his first game back, an FA Cup match against Leeds United, Henry scored after coming on as a sub. The Emirates Stadium roared in approval at the prodigal son's dramatic cameo.
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Andriy Shevchenko
Perhaps more well-known these days for his political work, Andriy Shevchenko was once one of the most feared strikers in world football. Starting his career with Dynamo Kiev, Shevchenko earned a move to AC Milan in Italy and went on to plunder 127 goals in 208 games. His move to Chelsea in 2006 was largely a disaster, as he scored just nine times in the Premier League in two years. He then performed the ultra-rare double return, moving back on loan to AC Milan before securing a permanent move back to his boyhood club, Dynamo Kiev. Milan was proof that not all returns turn out how players envisaged, as he failed to score in 18 appearances. He thankfully found his shooting boots back at Kiev though before retiring.
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The Outsider
Stephen King, Penguin
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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%3Cp%3EEncourage%20innovation%20in%20the%20metaverse%20field%20and%20boost%20economic%20contribution%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDevelop%20outstanding%20talents%20through%20education%20and%20training%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDevelop%20applications%20and%20the%20way%20they%20are%20used%20in%20Dubai's%20government%20institutions%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAdopt%2C%20expand%20and%20promote%20secure%20platforms%20globally%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDevelop%20the%20infrastructure%20and%20regulations%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Citizenship-by-investment programmes
United Kingdom
The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).
All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.
The Caribbean
Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport.
Portugal
The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.
“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.
Greece
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.
Spain
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.
Cyprus
Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.
Malta
The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.
The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.
Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.
Egypt
A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.
Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
