Luis Figo : one of the top world’s football players

His superb skill and the accuracy of his passes make him one of the greatest wingers in the world. Luis Figo was one of the best signings from the Johan Cruyff era. The Dutchman brought this young Portuguese player to Barça to replace a person who had left a profound mark on the club: Michael Laudrup. He's a skilful Portuguese international who is at home down either the left or right wing. Figo has a powerful shot but more often makes his mark as a provider than a scorer. He is considered one of the finest players in the world. Endless stamina and can thoroughly bamboozle the best of defenders with his dribbling.

Figo was immediately able to win over the Barça fans. His sprints up the wing, his beautiful crosses and his generous running for his teammates soon meant that 'Michelino' was forgotten. He arrived at Barcelona Football Club when he was only 22 years old, after twelve years with Sporting Lisbon. He won his cap for the Portuguese national side at an early age. When only 19 he was world champion with the under-20 team and two years earlier had been European champion at under-16 level.

He made his debut in the Portuguese First Division in the 1990-91 season with Sporting Lisbon when he only was 17 and continued playing with them until the 1995-96 season when he came to Barça. However, signing Luis Figo was not at all simple. His ability as a player had awakened interest amongst a number of the big European clubs. To get their man Barcelona had to fight off rival bids from Italian giants Juventus and Parma., but finally it was Barcelona who got their man.

Luis Figo is one of the few players in the present squad who has 'experienced' a large number of different managers: Cruyff's attacking style; Bobby Robson's anarchy and the mechanical precision of Van Gaal. Nevertheless, Luis Figo has more than demonstrated his superb capacity to adapt, a capacity which has been recognised and praised on more than one occasion by all of them. The Portuguese player is, as a consequence, a key point of reference in the Real Madrid attack and has a great future ahead of him.