- Figo joined arch rivals Real Madrid in a then-world record deal worth £52million
- Supporters reacted angrily and their irritation with the move burns strong today
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Luis Figo directed an X-rated gesture at a Barcelona supporter after being called a ‘traitor’ in a tense moment on the streets of Lisbon on Friday.
Figo, 52, made an appearance at the official Women’s Champions League final dinner along with other dignitaries ahead of the showdown on Saturday afternoon.
A small group gathered outside the restaurant to watch the guests arrive but Figo was given a frosty reception by one onlooker clad in a bright yellow Barcelona jersey.
In awkward scenes caught on camera, Figo was confronted over his controversial decision to join the Catalan giants’ fierce rivals Real Madrid in 2000.
The all-time great, and winner of the 2000 Ballon d’Or, then responded in vulgar fashion by grabbing his genitals before stepping forward to confront the supporter.
He then appeared to realise he was being filmed and wisely chose to walk away.
Luis Figo directed an X-rated gesture at a Barcelona supporter after being called a ‘traitor’
Figo confronted the onlooker ahead of attending a glitzy Champions League final dinner
He was criticised 25 years on from leaving Barcelona to join arch rivals Real Madrid
Before de-escalating the situation, Figo asked the heckler whether there was a problem, to which they replied: ‘What’s the problem if there’s a problem?
‘It’s okay if there’s a problem.’
Figo made the headlines after choosing to cross the divide and join Real Madrid in July 2000 for what was then a world record fee of £52million.
‘The main reason I left was because they valued me and genuinely wanted me,’ Figo revealed in 2022. ‘In the end I thought about myself. Was it selfish? Maybe. Did I earn more money? Yes but if I’d stayed I’d have earned the same.’
Figo was roundly abused by Barcelona supporters on several occasions. Thousands of spectators mocked him by waving bank notes while others hurled bottles, coins and cigarette lighters on him on his return to the Nou Camp three months later.
Two years later, a pig’s head was thrown in his direction as he went to take a corner.
‘I had everything in Barcelona, but you think: it’s not like I’m going to a second-rate club,’ Figo said. ‘If it hadn’t been Madrid, maybe I wouldn’t have gone.
‘It’s a challenge, a decision based on feeling valued, convincing me I was going to be an extremely important piece. It could have been a cagada, a cock-up, but it wasn’t.’
A pig’s head was tossed at Figo as he took a corner two years on from his controversial move
Supporters also burned a portrait of the all-time great months after his departure
Play was suspended during a match at the Nou Camp in 2002 as tensions flared
Figo admitted he feared he would be attacked by a ‘madman’.
‘These days, there’s more protection,’ he told the Guardian. ‘It felt like I was doing a press conference every day. That takes its toll.
‘We were starting to tour, a new idea, there was the rivalry, the pressure, the price.
‘The hatred too. Not everyone likes God, how is everyone going to like me?
‘My only concern was if something happened physically, some madman. But go and play football? Nah! In football there’s no reason to be scared.’
