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Where does Landon Donovan's return rank among these notable athletes?
Sep 11, 2016; Carson, CA, USA; Los Angeles Galaxy forward Landon Donovan gets gets support from his bench as he enters the second half of the game against the Orlando City FC at StubHub Center. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Where does Landon Donovan's return rank among these notable athletes?

When Landon Donovan returned to professional soccer after a near two-year hiatus, he joined a notable list of dominant athletes to return to the game.

Donovan, 34, himself told fans the decision to return stemmed from an unyielding love for his former club, the Los Angeles Galaxy, a team that saw both injuries and player departures threaten a chance to miss the upcoming MLS postseason. He proved that point in salvaging one for the Galaxy in just his second match back with this goal.

If Donovan stays on this path and stays healthy he could find himself lifting his seventh (that’s right he won six in a eight-year career in Los Angeles) MLS title.

His immediate success got us to thinking. There have been other athletes that have returned to their sport and found success.

But which ones were the most dominant? We take a look at five.

1. Michael Phelps

He left swimming as its most decorated athlete. With 22 medals – 18 of them Olympic gold – when Phelps announced his retirement in following the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. He had nothing else to prove to anyone.

Except apparently himself.

Phelps came out of retirement to dominate this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio and if it wasn’t for his bonehead 4x100 teammates falsifying harassment from Brazilian police a claim orchestrated by swimming bad boy anchored by Ryan Lochte, Phelps would have dominated the headlines yet again.

2. Floyd Mayweather

With a pristine 49-0 record and world titles across multiple weight classes, Mayweather was another guy who had nothing to prove to anyone as he strut his stuff with garbage bags full of money down the Vegas strip. Mayweather retired on three separate occasions, but it’s the smell of dollars for contenders lining up to thwart his perfect record that continuously keeps finding Mayweather raising his fists one more time in victory – before slinking back into obscurity as only he can.

3.  Roger Clemens

Who retires from the game and wins the Cy Young award the following season? Roger Clemens does. It’s exactly what he did in 2003 when his called it quits came back and was dominant for the Houston, leading the Astros to the World Series. Clemens when on to play for four more seasons after calling it quits finally, saying goodbye for good after the 2007 season at age 45.

4.  Deion Sanders

This may be one of the most remarkable comeback stories because remember that “Prime Time” was a beast in both baseball and football. But in this case it would be at cornerback in 2004 for the Baltimore Ravens following his retirement in 2001 after a season with the Redskins.

Sanders played two seasons with the Ravens. His reasoning? He wanted to play alongside Ravens legend and best friend Ray Lewis.

5. Michael Jordan

He ended his career with the Washington Wizards in 2005, but it was his time in Chicago that put MJ to heights only a few players in the game have replicated. After a failed attempted at playing in the MLB with the Chicago White Sox, Jordan returned to the Bulls wearing that memorable No. 45 jersey (for one game) before returning to 23.

However, despite flashes of what made Jordan great, he never was able to regain the same success. And his final presser as a pro? Same sad state.

But that’s okay, Jordan was able to rebound off the court as the king of the multi-billion dollar empire that is Jumpman after partnering with sportswear giant, Nike.

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