Germany striker Mario Gomez has sealed a return to former club Stuttgart from Bundesliga counterparts Wolfsburg on a two-and-a-half-year contract.
The 32-year-old was a product of the youth system at Stuttgart, where he made his Bundesliga and international breakthroughs more than a decade ago, memorably firing Die Schwaben to the title in 2006-07.
Gomez has 155 goals in 281 Bundesliga appearances over the course of his career and 87 of those came with Stuttgart before joining Bayern Munich in 2009 for a then German top-flight record of €30million.
He went on to play for Fiorentina and Besiktas, with Gomez s form for the Turkish giants earning him a surprise Germany recall for Euro 2016, four years on from his previous competitive appearance for Die Mannschaft.
A return to his homeland with Wolfsburg followed that tournament but, after a successful campaign last time around, Gomez has only managed one Bundesliga goal this term.
He leaves Wolfsburg 12th in the table – two places and as many points above Stuttgart, where Gomez will be in line for a second debut when they host Hertha Berlin after the mid-season break.
Hannes Wolf s side are on a five-match losing run in all competitions after being dumped out of the DFB-Pokal in midweek.
Stuttgart have also confirmed teenage forward Josip Brekalo will move in the opposite direction, returning early to Wolfsburg from a loan spell that was due to run until the end of this season.
