Luis Figo's Transfer to Real Madrid in 2000 | Most Controversial Transfer

Luis Figo's Transfer : Football's most controversial transfer 

Luis Figo’s transfer to Real Madrid from Barcelona is regarded as one of the most controversial transfers in the history of Football. Figo; a true Barcelona icon and a gem in the eyes of the Barcelona fans overnight became the most hated player.

Figo was undoubtedly a great player on the pitch and naturally he was one of the most loved players in the Barcelona fan club. But a transfer contract in 2000 changed everything. Luis Figo’s transfer contract completely jeopardized the relationship between Figo and Barcelona fans.

There are a lot of strings attached to this contract which makes the transfer controversial and at the same time makes it unique. There are many players who played for both Barcelona and Real Madrid but Luis Figo was different.

The nature of the transfer contract shows that it was a complete betrayal from Figo’s side. Hence the unconditional love soon got converted into hatred and Luis Figo from being an Icon went on to become the villain in the eyes of Barcelona fans.

In this article we shall know in details about Luis Figo’s transfer contract and also the circumstances under which the transfer took place.

Luis Figo

Special bond between Figo and Barcelona fans 

Figo joined Barcelona in the year 1995. Within no time Figo successfully impressed the Barcelona fans with his sensational play of football. He made a special spot in the heart of the Barcelona fans. Fans loved Figo with all their heart and Figo equally loved his fans and also the club.

On numerous occasions, Figo provided fans, the opportunity to celebrate Barcelona’s victory both in Spain and in Europe. In his stay of 5 years in Barcelona; Figo helped the club to win 2 Spanish legues, 2 Spanish cups, 2 Spanish Supercups.

With Figo in the team Barcelona also won European trophies; in these 5 years the club managed to win 1 UEFA Supercup and 1 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup (a tournament abolished in 1999). Also Figo gave the worst nightmares to the arch rivals Real Madrid both on and off the field.

On one occasion, when Barcelona won the Spanish league, Figo dyed his hair Claret and Blue (the colour of Barcelona) and mocked Real Madrid by saying “White cry-babies, salute the Champions!” 

Also Figo was sympathetic towards the Catalonia Independence Movement which made him more popular in the fan club. In other words Figo proved himself to be a perfect player for Barcelona both on and off the field.

Although he was from Portugal, Figo seemed to be more of a Catalan than a Portuguese.

Luis Figo's Transfer Agreement 

The love and affection towards Figo and the strong bond between Figo and his fans was jeopardized when rumours spread about his transfer. And this bond was completely destroyed when Figo ultimately joined Real Madrid.

The Catalan hero from Portugal became a villain in the eyes of Barcelona fans. But why Luis Figo’s transfer contract was even signed if the conditions were so ideal for him in Barcelona?

Presidential Elections in Real Madrid 

It all started during the Presidential Election of Real Madrid in the year 2000. The candidates were incumbent Lorenzo Sanz and his competitor Florentino Perez. Lorenzo Sanz seemed to have the upper hand over Perez because under Sanz, Real Madrid had recently won two UEFA Champions League in 1997-1998 and 1999-2000.

The 1997-98 UCL was very special as the club had won the trophy after a long gap of 32 years. The long 32 year wait was over and the fans also experienced another UCL win in the season 1999-2000.

Lorenzo Sanz

Perez promise to sign in Figo 

It appeared that Perez had no chance and back then almost all the football experts had the similar view. But Florentino Perez is a very clever businessman. He had done his homework properly and he knew the exact nerve where he could hit hard in the election race. 

Perez had conducted a kind of poll among the members of Real Madrid where he asked them which player they would like to sign in the most. The obvious answer that came out of the poll was Luis Figo. 

From these results, Perez knew that Luis Figo’s transfer to Real Madrid would turn the tables in his favour in the elections. 

Members see a win-win situation in Florentino's promise 

Perez promised to all the members that if he became the president then Luis Figo’s transfer would be a sure thing. He also added that if Luis Figo’s transfer becomes a failed thing in his presidency then he would pay the membership fees of all the 83,967 members for the following year. 

This move was a game-changer in the election race. The members didn’t care about Sanz and his UEFA trophies. All they cared was Luis Figo’s transfer to Real Madrid. On the other hand if Luis Figo’s transfer failed to take place then they will end up having free membership for a whole year. This was a real win-win situation for the members. 

Although Perez had made a promise that would turn the tables in his favour but to the outside world it still appeared that Sanz would win the election.

Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Home Ground of Real Madrid

Presidential Election in Barcelona 

The promise of Luis Figo’s transfer to the Real Madrid members was one part of Florentino’s master plan. Now he had to negotiate with Figo himself, he needed to sign a pre-contract with Figo. 

The then situations in Barcelona helped Perez in this regard. Barcelona would also hold Presidential Elections in the near future and this created a vacuum of power in the club. On the other hand, Figo wanted to renew his agreement in Barcelona with some increased wages. 

His agent met with the presidential candidates and asked for renewal of his agreement with increased wages. But none of the candidates could offer any concrete deal as none of them were sure about their presidential seat. 

Pre-contract between Figo and Perez 

In that situation, Perez contacted Figo and lured him to sign a pre-contract. The terms of the pre-contract were enticing; Perez told that if he wins the election then Figo had to join Real Madrid and if Figo refused to do so he would have to pay Perez a penalty of around 22 million pounds. 

On the other hand if Perez loses the election then Perez would pay Figo a sum of 1.7 million pounds and Figo could still be a Barcelona player. We must remember that for the outside world Sanz was still winning the Real Madrid presidential election and Figo had a similar opinion. 

In this pre-contract Figo saw a potential opportunity to earn 1.7 million pounds in the form of easy money. Also none of the presidential candidates of Barcelona offered him a better deal, so he could use this pre-contract as leverage to increase his wages in the club. 

It was an apparent win-win situation for Figo and thus he signed the pre-contract with Perez. While signing the contract Figo always believed that Perez would lose the election and he would end up having the sum of money and also remain as a Barcelona player. 

After the pre-contract was signed the news regarding Luis Figo’s transfer spread like fire. Figo denied signing any pre-contract with Perez as he knew it would destroy his image. He refused it by saying that he was not a mad to do such a thing. Figo was waiting for Perez to lose so that he would end up being a big gainer. 

Perez becomes the president of Real Madrid 

Meanwhile things got warmed up in Madrid as well. Lorenzo Sanz knew that Luis Figo’s transfer rumour would be a threat for his presidential seat and therefore, he dismissed the story of such a deal. He told Luis Figo’s transfer to Real Madrid was not a possible thing as Figo’s actions in the past had proved that he was kind of anti-Real Madrid. 

Sanz even mocked Perez by saying that next time Perez would probably promise to sign in Claudia Schiffer (a former supermodel). But we know how well Perez did his homework. On 16th July, 2000 Perez won the elections and became the president of Real Madrid. 

Florentino Perez

Figo's final attempts to remain in Barcelona 

Perez winning the election was the worst nightmare for Figo and Barcelona. In that situation Figo had two options; he could either join Real Madrid or he would have to pay the penalty of 22 million pounds.   

Meanwhile Joan Gaspart had become the president of Barcelona. Figo approached Gaspart and asked him to undo the deal with Perez. Figo stated that Perez tricked his agent and he was not in a position to pay the penalty. 

Now the burden was upon Gaspart’s soldiers; he could either let go of Figo or he could pay the penalty on Figo’s behalf. Now the whole game of Perez was clear. 

Gaspart knew that Perez would use this money to pay the membership fees of all the Real Madrid members for an entire year. Gaspart couldn’t agree upon the fact that, with his money the Real Madrid members would enjoy watching free football for an entire year. 

Thus he chose to let go of Figo and finally the epic Luis Figo’s transfer was about to happen. Florentino Perez had literally outsmarted everyone. 

Fan's reaction to Luis Figo's transfer 

Naturally Barcelona fans didn't welcome Luis Figo’s transfer to Real Madrid and they were outraged. After knowing the entire incident of Luis Figo’s transfer the fans felt that their Icon had betrayed them for money. The love and respect of the fans had been converted into complete hatred. 

Figo's first visit to Camp Nou in Real Madrid colours 

The hatred was clearly visible when Figo visited Camp Nou in the colours of Real Madrid. This was only 3 months after his transfer and the wound in the hearts was quite fresh. The fans screamed “Die Figo!” and flattered white handkerchiefs in the air which symbolized that the fans were suggesting that Figo should be killed. 

Figo plugged his ears with his fingers to show he didn’t care about the criticisms. This gesture of Figo angered the fans more and Figo was bombarded with missiles which were in the form of coins, mobiles, bicycle chain, bricks etc. This made the whole atmosphere very dangerous. 

Camp Nou Stadium, Home Ground of F.C. Barcelona

Figo's second visit to Camp Nou 

Figo again visited Camp Nou in 2002. This time the spectators were expected to be less violent. But this time things were even uglier. The police had to make passage for Real Madrid team bus and the match was also abandoned for 16 minutes in the midway. There were missiles and this time it included a knife and a pig’s head. The pig’s head became very famous which was thrown as Figo was going for a corner kick. 

Things never improved between Figo and Barcelona fans. Even to this day he is the most hated player in the Barcelona fan club.“Time heals all wounds”, but in case of Figo it was not true. Luis Figo’s transfer left wounds in the hearts of fans which was never healed.

Perez the Ultimate Winner

Luis Figo's transfer surely had broken the hearts of all Barcelona fans but it shows the master class of Florentino Perez. Perez outsmarted Figo and also his political rival Sanz. Perez also forced the Barcelona management into such a situation where they had to agree with Luis Figo's transfer.

The level of smartness shown by Perez is praise worthy and he should be given credit for that. The person most benefited by Luis Figo's transfer was Florentino Perez. Thus it can be said that the ultimate winner in that situation was Perez himself.




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