Luka Jovic is returning to the club where he was happy and where he excelled. He is back at Eintracht Frankfurt to rediscover the lethal striker he was before signing for Real Madrid.
A lack of adaptation, injuries, controversies and the absence of goals sum up his year and a half as a Los Blancos player.
Europe's elite clubs were competing in 2019 against each other for one of the most talented European youngsters after Jovic surprised everyone in German football by becoming a leading scorer for Eintracht Frankfurt, showing off his shooting virtues,.
Zinedine Zidane liked his profile and Jovic suited him as Karim Benzema's substitute, so the Frenchman asked for him to be signed.
Up to 60 million euros were paid for the player's acquisition, but he never adapted to Real Madrid's greatness.
Jovic, cold since the day of his presentation at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, where he surprised many by not leaving a single smile or gesture of emotion in what should be a dream day for any footballer, never lived up to the expectations.
Neither his injuries nor his behaviour were understood by the club or the coaching staff.
During the COVID-19 pandemic he flew to Serbia and got in trouble there, while in Madrid he attended a barbecue with friends, breaching the club's internal rules.
His confidence plummeted and last summer he asked the club to join Eintracht Frankfurt to regain his joy. The German club tried to clinch transfer without paying even half of the player's annual wages and the deal fell through. Real Madrid allowed Borja Mayoral to leave for Roma and Jovic stayed put.
All Zidane's attempts with the forward were unsuccessful and he ended up considering the situation to be an impossible one.
Jovic's goodbye was only a matter of time and it came in the winter market, on loan until the end of the season and without a purchase option. He is returning to his origins in pursuit of a reboot.