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Luís Figo

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Luís Figo

Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo OIH (Portuguese pronunciation: [luˈiʃ ˈfiɣu]; born 4 November 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a winger for Sporting CP, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Inter Milan. He won 127 caps for the Portugal national team, a one-time record. Figo is widely regarded as one of the best players of his generation and one of the greatest wingers in the history of the sport. He ranks second for the all-time Portuguese top assist providers in the UEFA Champions League (15).

Figo won the 2000 Ballon d'Or, 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year, and in 2004 Pelé named him in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players. Figo is one of the few football players to have played for both Spanish rival clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid. His transfer from Barcelona to Real Madrid in 2000 set a world record fee of €62 million. Figo, who was widely regarded as the face of Barcelona along with Rivaldo at that time, had signed a conditional agreement with Florentino Pérez, who at the time was running to become the president of Real Madrid. In short, the agreement stated that if Pérez became the president of the club, Figo would sign for them. If Figo refused to leave Barcelona, he would have to pay a penalty fee of 5 billion pesetas (around £22 million or $34 million). If Pérez lost the election, Figo would keep 400 million pesetas (around £1.7 million)

Figo had a very successful career highlighted by several trophy wins, including the Portuguese Cup, four La Liga titles, two Spanish Cups, three Spanish Super Cups, one Champions League title, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, two UEFA Super Cups, one Intercontinental Cup, four Serie A titles, one Italian Cup, and three Italian Super Cups. At international level, he scored 32 goals for Portugal, representing the nation at three European Championships and two World Cups, helping them reach the final but finish as runners-up at Euro 2004, as well as reaching the semi-finals at the 2006 World Cup.

The only child of António Caeiro Figo and Maria Joana Pestana Madeira who moved from Alentejo to Lisbon in the early 1970s, Figo grew up in the working-class district of Cova da Piedade, Almada. He began his career as a street footballer at Os Pastilhas, before joining the academy of Sporting CP at the age of 12. In his youth, Figo played futsal from which he learned a lot of skills that helped him later in his career.

Figo started his career at Sporting CP, making his league debut on 2 April 1990 during the 1989–90 season as a substitute for Marlon Brandão in a 1–0 home win against Marítimo. On 7 December 1991, Figo scored his first goal against Torreense in the 1991–92 season, equalising as Sporting won 2–1. He won his first senior international cap in 1991. Prior to that, he won the 1991 FIFA Under-20 World Championships and Under-16 European Championships with Portugal junior sides alongside Rui Costa and João Pinto. He was also a significant part of Portugal's "Golden Generation". In his final season at Sporting he won the 1994–95 Portuguese Cup.

In 1995, Figo looked poised to join one of the big clubs of Europe, but a dispute between Italian clubs Juventus and Parma, with Figo having signed contracts with both clubs, resulted in an Italian two-year transfer ban on him. Eventually, Figo made a move to Spanish giants Barcelona for a £2.25 million fee, being loaned back for the remainder of the season due to a rule prohibiting Portuguese players from signing for foreign clubs outside a fixed period. This rule had prevented Figo from joining English club Manchester City, where he had been recommended by his former Sporting manager Malcolm Allison for a fee of around £1.2 million.

It was with Barcelona that Figo's career really took off, winning the 1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, starring alongside Ronaldo, followed by successive Primera División titles where he was part of a formidable attack that included Rivaldo and Patrick Kluivert. In total, Figo appeared 172 times in the league for Barcelona, scoring 30 goals. He was revered in Barcelona because his presence had given Catalonia a sense of external approval.

In July 2000, Figo made a surprising and controversial €62 million move to Barcelona's bitter rivals Real Madrid. Real Madrid met the buyout clause in Figo's contract at Barcelona, a new world record fee, and his arrival at Madrid signalled the beginning of Florentino Pérez's Galáctico era of global stars signed by the club every year. Figo became the new focus of the Barcelona–Real Madrid rivalry, with Barcelona fans feeling betrayed by his transfer and turning against him. His move to Madrid was significant due to his status as a star player at Barcelona, reliable, and always committed to the cause as a team leader. One of his Barcelona teammates stated, "Our plan was simple: give the ball to Luís. He never, ever hid". Although now wearing the white shirt of Real Madrid, he won the Ballon d'Or award in November 2000, largely for what he did for Barcelona, where he became the best in the world.

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