Santiago Gimenez has made a fast start to life with Milan after his $33 million switch from Feyenoord earlier this month as the winter transfer window closed. The 23-year-old Argentina-born Mexico international was handed the Rossoneri’s No. 7 jersey made iconic by the legendary Andriy Shevchenko while at San Siro. Two games in and Gimenez has already provided a goal and an assist and now the former Cruz Azul star is set to go up against his former employers where he became the all-time leading Mexican goal scorer in Eredivisie history with 45 goals which bettered Hirving “Chucky” Lozano’s previous best of 34 with PSV Eindhoven. Feyenoord have since parted ways with head coach Brian Priske but the Dutch outfit will fear their ex-star striker coming back to hurt them so soon after leaving De Kuip when they attempt to advance past the Italian giants in the UEFA Champions League knockout round playoffs.
Here are some other memorable occasions when players have scored against their former clubs on the UCL stage.
How to watch Milan vs. Feyenoord, odds
- Date: Wednesday, Feb. 12 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Stadion Feijenoord – Rotterdam, Netherlands
- Watch: Paramount+
- Odds: Feyenoord +220; Draw +250; AC Milan +115
WATCH: USMNT’s Christian Pulisic, Mexico’s Santiago Gimenez connect on AC Milan’s golazo vs. Empoli
Francesco Porzio
Honorable mention: Angel Di Maria (PSG)
The legendary former Argentina international had some run-ins with multiple exes while enjoying arguably the strongest sustained period of his career while with Paris Saint-Germain. Not only did “El Fideo” provide a pair of assists when he returned to Old Trafford with Les Parisiens in a 2-0 win over Manchester United back in 2019, but that same year he also came across Real Madrid and scored twice in a 3-0 success which he celebrated without restraint on a memorable night at Parc des Princes.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
The Portuguese superstar wrote his legend with Real Madrid but was already a household name with United before he left for Santiago Bernabeu. Although Ronaldo only came up against his former clubs a handful of times during his European career, two of those occasions were the pair of legs of a round of 16 meeting back in 2012-13 when Los Blancos advanced past the Red Devils with the Portugal talisman scoring in both games but refusing to celebrate scoring at Old Trafford.
David Luiz (PSG)
The Brazilian defender’s European career was full of ups and downs and plenty of quirky moments but few perhaps rank as high as his return to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea in the UCL round of 16 when he was a PSG player during a spell in the French capital sandwiched between two stints with the Londoners. Back in 2014-15, Luiz scored the first of two heroic equalizers for the Ligue 1 giants as they fought back twice to earn a 2-2 draw after extra time which eliminated the Blues on away goals despite losing Zlatan Ibrahimovic to an early red card. Future Chelsea captain Thiago Silva scored the other crucial goal with another header but Luiz’s was memorable for his emotional celebrations against his previous and future employers.
Thibaut Courtois (Atletico Madrid)
Similar to Fernando Morientes who we will get to shortly, Thibaut Courtois found himself on loan with Atletico Madrid in 2013-14 going up against parent club Chelsea in the Champions League semifinals. The Belgium international featured although there was no shortage of debate regarding that ahead of the game until UEFA ruled that a reported clause that could have cost Atleti $3.1 million per game was “null, void and unenforceable,” and he kept a clean sheet at home as Diego Simeone’s men knocked the Blues out 3-1 over two legs.
Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich)
PSG have come to expect their former players to hunt them both domestically and on the continent over the years but few instances hurt as much as the 2019-20 Champions League final against Bayern Munich. Academy graduate Kingsley Coman, who joined the German giants via Juventus, scored the only goal of the game with a rare header to land the Bavarians’ sixth UCL crown while denying Paris a possible first. It was also a historic first instance of a player scoring against their former club in the final.
Philippe Coutinho (Bayern Munich)
It was another Bayern player who arguably set the bar even higher in terms of inflicting embarrassment upon their former club with Philippe Coutinho doing damage to Barcelona while on loan in Germany. The Brazilian was looking to rejuvenate his career with the move and although we have since seen that he was unable to do so, he did enjoy a fairly productive spell with the Bundesliga giants which saw him win a healthy amount of silverware. The main moment of his Bavarian stint, though, came in the 2019-20 Champions League quarterfinals when he assisted future Barca star Robert Lewandowski before adding two late goals in a demoralizing 8-2 destruction of the freefalling Catalan giants. He also featured in the final win over PSG but his time with both Barca and Bayern will forever be encapsulated by that cameo appearance.
Fernando Morientes (Monaco)
The only thing better than a player scoring twice in one game against a former club is arguably doing it multiple times across different games which is why Fernando Morientes’ AS Monaco loan spell while owned by Real Madrid is the stuff of legend. The former Spain international was expected to join Schalke 04 for the 2003-04 season as it was obvious that he was out of favor in Madrid but when that move to Germany fell through, Les Monegasques pounced to secure his signature. It was an incredible campaign for Morientes and especially so in the Champions League with his nine goals as top scorer before ASM fell agonizingly short in the final against Jose Mourinho’s Porto. Didier Deschamps’ Monaco drew Morientes’ parent club Real in the quarterfinals and his crucial goal in a 4-2 first-leg loss was added to by another strike in a famous 3-1 win over the Spanish giants at Stade Louis II with a 5-5 aggregate final scorer sending the principality outfit into the semifinals.
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