Will Sebastian Giovinco return to play for Toronto FC? Well...

Sebastian Giovinco is Toronto FC's all-time leading goalscorer, with 83 goals. He is also arguably (actually) the best player in club history.

Giovinco's MLS resume includes a league MVP award, one Golden Boot, four All-Star selections and three Best XI picks. He helped TFC clinch a historic domestic treble in 2017, including an at the time MLS record league points total.

With all this in mind, the former Italian international has declared he would like to again play for the Reds. The question is, how feasible is this scenario?

From Giovinco's perspective, he is willing to be extremely flexible when it comes to wages. As per the Toronto Sun's Steve Buffery, he is prepared to play for essentially half of the $671,875 US Ayo Akinola earned this past season.

Toronto FC legend Sebastian Giovinco now lives full-time in the Toronto area and has made it clear he would like to again play for his beloved former club.

For some context, Akinola scored just two goals in 26 league appearances (including 14 starts) during 2022. You would like to think Giovinco can at least match this kind of production, but there are mitigating factors to consider.

There was recent speculation the 35-year-old had retired. However, as per Anthony Khoury of Waking the Red, he firmly refuted this and confirmed his willingness to return to TFC.

Despite Giovinco's ambition to play once more for his beloved Toronto FC, there is the question of his fitness (and age). He only made two appearances for Sampdoria during the 2021/22 season, with no goals or assists.

From Giovinco's perspective, he is confident he can become match fit with a month of intensive training. Whether TFC want him though, is another matter altogether.

Differing opinions

Prior to joining Sampdoria in January, the Turin, Italy native was training with the Reds. As per Buffery, he is convinced a deal was in place to play for TFC, but President Bill Manning insists it was his decision to sign with Sampdoria.

The issue is, this isn't the first time Giovinco and Manning have had differing viewpoints. Consider when the forward left Toronto after the 2018 season.

As I wrote at the time, Giovinco said he left due to being offered terms which he considered unacceptable. Manning responded by saying that while he was offered less than he previously received from TFC, the player still would have been among the top five or six paid players in MLS.

Given the previous 'dramas' involving Giovinco, you have to wonder if TFC want to deal with him again. Club legend or not, he additionally is nowhere near the player he used to be.

The former Juventus player now lives full-time in the Toronto area. As such, playing for TFC would be both convenient and a dream conclusion to his professional player career.

From this writer's perspective however, it seems unlikely Giovinco will play again for Toronto FC. However, things can change in an instant in professional football and there would be no issue with being proven wrong.

What is you take on Giovinco wanting to play for Toronto FC again? Would you bring him back or not, and why? Let us know in the comments section below.