The scandal of Luis Figo with the Italian League

The scandal of Luis Figo with the Italian League

In addition, the event that occurred between Barcelona and Real Madrid, Luis Figo was also part of a scandal in Italy.

Por: Nicolás SasuJueves 6 Oct 2022

If one thinks about the word "scandal" and "Luis Figo", probably most of them remember what happened when he signed for Real Madrid when he was a player of FC Barcelona. That day, one of the greatest "betrayals" in the history of football occurred, as the Blaugrana star decided to play for FC Barcelona's greatest historical rival. However, this was not the only problem that occurred during the history of the Portuguese player. Many fans may question whether Figo's decision to sign for Real Madrid is controversial, but this is not illegal. Instead, it is illegal to sign with 2 teams at the same time.

Figo left FC Barcelona and joined the greatest rival, Real Madrid

Figo left FC Barcelona and joined the greatest rival, Real Madrid

This happened in 1995 when Luis Figo was still a player for Sporting Clube de Portugal. He was 22 years old and was considered one of the great promises of world football. Many clubs like Parma, Juventus, or FC Barcelona were interested in signing him. At that time, the Italian League (Serie A) was considered the most powerful in the world and Figo wanted to play in Italy. For these reasons, he was interested in the proposal of Parma and Juventus.

In mid-October 1994, Sporting CP, Figo and Vecchia Signora reached an agreement for the signing of the Portuguese player from July 1 (1995) for a figure of 3.5 million euros. But just two months later, Figo and his representative signed another contract with the Emilia-Romagna city team (Parma), a contract with a better salary. That was something that was prohibited by FIFA and he could be punished with a two-year ban without being able to play.

Figo signed 2 contracts at the same time, one with Parma and the other with Juventus

Figo signed 2 contracts at the same time, one with Parma and the other with Juventus

Figo explained in various interviews that he signed a contract with Parma, not Juventus. With the Bianconeri team, he only signed an agreement. But legally, according to the point of view of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), this was NOT the case. The third interested club was FC Barcelona, which did everything possible for Luis Figo to sign for them. For this, the directors of FC Barcelona began to mediate the problem between Parma and Juventus, to find a favorable solution for all the teams.

Finally, this is what happened. Parma and Juventus agreed that Figo would not play for either team. In fact, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) sanctioned Luis Figo with 2 years without playing in Serie A. This forced Figo's representative to negotiate with FC Barcelona. Secondly, Juventus canceled the contract and Parma decided to loan Figo to FC Barcelona for 1 year. It was the best possible agreement for the 3 clubs.

In the year 1995, Figo could not fulfill his dream of playing in the Italian league because he was suspended for 2 years.

In the year 1995, Figo could not fulfill his dream of playing in the Italian league because he was suspended for 2 years.

On 20 April 1995, Luis Figo said at a press conference: "It's all decided, I'm a Barcelona player". If Figo had been a bad player, after 1 year he would have returned to Parma and would have spent 1 year without playing. But as Figo's level in Catalonia was impressive and after 1 year, the club signed the Portuguese for almost 3 million euros (money received by Sporting CP).

After the scandal in Italy, Luis Figo was presented as a new Barcelona player

After the scandal in Italy, Luis Figo was presented as a new Barcelona player

With FC Barcelona, Luis Figo played 249 games, with 45 goals and 80 assists. Also, in 5 seasons he won 6 titles.

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