Bundesliga
Douglas Costa re-joins Bayern Munich on loan
Brazilian winger Douglas Costa has re-joined Bayern Munich on loan from Juventus, just three years after swapping Munich for Turin.
Costa won back-to-back league titles during a two-year stay at the Allianz Arena across the 2015/16 and 2016/17 campaigns, scoring eight times and notching 20 assists in 50 Bundesliga appearances.
He has since won three Serie A crowns on the spin; meaning Costa has lifted domestic league trophies in each of his past five seasons and in 10 of his last 11, with Shakhtar Donetsk's 2014/15 second-place finish - his final campaign in Ukraine before joining Bayern - the sole blip in that time.
Costa - who has 31 caps and three goals for his country - played under both Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti, and will add even more firepower to Hansi Flick's all-conquering side that secured last season's treble, while already adding both the domestic and European Super Cups this term.
“Douglas will reinforce the wide positions that are so important to our game,” said sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic. “With Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, Kingsley Coman, Jamal Musiala and now Douglas, we’re now well equipped in that area. It gives the coach the chance to manage their playing time. Douglas knows Bayern and will quickly find his feet again.”
Watch: Douglas Costa's stunning Moment of the Matchday from 2016
The likes of David Alaba, Jerome Boateng, Coman, Joshua Kimmich, Robert Lewandowski, Javi Martinez, Thomas Müller and Manuel Neuer all remain at the club since Costa's last stay, which ended in the summer of 2017 when he first joined Juve on loan.
That move was made permanent a year later, with Costa's final Bayern appearance from his first spell coming in the dramatic 5-4 win at 2016/17 runners-up RB Leipzig on 13 May, 2017.
“I’m glad to be back at Bayern again. I had a wonderful time in Munich with plenty of success, and am sure we’ll win yet more titles,” the Brazilian added.
Costa - who has featured twice in the league for Juventus this season - could feature for the first time back with the Bavarians against lower-league FC Düren in their rescheduled DFB Cup first-round tie on 15 October, following the upcoming international break.