July 24: Figo Signs with Real Madrid

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Luis Figo was a fan favorite and helped Barcelona to a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup title in 1996–97 and successive Primera División titles but broke the Catalan’s hearts and became enemy number 1 when he signed with Real Madrid on this day in soccer history in 2000.

The Portuguese international became the most expensive player with reports of a fee between £38m and £53m for the player.

Figo was the first signing after Florentino Perez’s push to create the Galacticos by signing a top player every season and return Real Madrid to former glory. He subsequently signed Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and David Beckham to be the core of the first Galactico side.

The Camp Nou faithful were waiting for the return of Figo and Real Madrid in the first league match three months after the signing. Barcelona went on to win 2-0 but made sure Figo knew he was no longer welcome with Judas chants as well as tossing all sorts of missiles, including mobile phones, bricks, bicycle chains, and whiskey bottles, onto the field.

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Figo made a point to steer clear of the touchlines and did not take corner kicks in the match to avoid being hit.

Brazilian Roberto Carlos thought it was the most intense environment he ever played sayin, “I remember spending ninety minutes worrying about being hit by flying objects. All we wanted to do was get out if Barcelona alive.”

Soccer Birthdays

1961 – Kerry Dixon, English footballer
1966 – Martin Keown, English footballer
1971 – Dino Baggio, Italian footballer
1977 – Mehdi Mahdavikia, Iranian football player
1983 – Daniele De Rossi, Italian footballer