The Figo Affair: The Transfer That Changed Football

He lied to Barça fans.

He broke our hearts. He's gonna pay.

He's a mercenary. He can go to hell.

- -

Barça! Barça!

Welcome to football in its purest form.

One of world football's great derbies.

A NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY

Barcelona vs Real Madrid.

Catalonia versus Spain.

But tonight, it is all about one man.

It's a hostile reception,

especially for Luís Figo.

Traitor, mercenary, Judas.

That's what the Barcelona fans are calling him,

even though he was once a hero in Catalonia.

Watch out! This could explode at any moment!

CATALONIA DOESN'T FORGET. JUDA$!!

They're throwing everything at Luís Figo.

Everything.

It's over. The game's about to be suspended.

Seems like only yesterday

that Luís Figo was worshipped in this stadium.

How on earth did it end up like this?

So many people think they know the story.

But I'm the one that knows the truth.

Because I'm the protagonist.

I lived it.

Now everyone can tell their story,

and I'll tell mine.

LISBON

Portuguese footballer Luís Figo

will be playing the next two seasons for Barcelona,

according to sources in the Portuguese press.

Figo, 22, a player for Sporting Lisbon,

is currently one of Portugal's biggest football stars.

Figo will leave this modest neighborhood,

11 kilometers from Lisbon,

for a life of luxury in Barcelona.

I felt this huge sense of happiness and joy.

Barcelona was a team I followed and admired.

I felt like a kid with a new ball.

It was the first trip I made to play overseas.

And it was going to be a completely different reality for me.

A new country, a new championship. I was very young.

I was going to live on my own. Not with my parents anymore.

Luís Figo, until now a Sporting Lisbon player,

arrived in style, alongside his agent, José Veiga.

Figo! Figo!

- Figo! Figo! Figo! Hello. - Hello.

Are you surprised by this reception?

In a way, but when you consider the size of the club,

I'm not that surprised.

Do you realize you're Barça's star-signing this season

and that there are huge expectations for you?

Sure. I just hope I can live up to those expectations.

- Are you happy, Luís? -Yes. I'm very happy right now.

I thought it was a massive club, where I could get what I wanted,

to gain more prestige and win titles.

And since I was passionate about Cruyff and his Dream Team,

I didn't hesitate.

I had the support of most of the Spanish players.

Especially Pep.

And that helped me fit in and identify quickly with the club

and with the culture.

-Has it been 20 years? - Yes.

Fuck.

You know what? Maybe I've actually forgotten a lot of the questions

I wanted to ask him back then.

It's crazy how time moves on.

We were together a lot.

We shared hotel rooms on away games. We were roommates.

So we ended up spending a lot of time together.

We were inseparable.

Hi from the Nou Camp, where Barcelona take on Real Madrid.

And here comes the team from the capital.

I remember in Figo's early days,

I went over to Cruyff and said, "Who the fuck have you signed?"

As in, this guy is very, very good.

Guardiola to Figo.

During our time together at Barcelona, he was an amazing player,

in capital letters.

Hello from Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid.

What an atmosphere for the Spanish Cup final.

Barcelona and Real Betis are just moments from kickoff.

The best thing about Luís was that when you were in trouble,

he'd step up.

1-1 FIGO, MINUTE 45

There are many great players who, when the going gets tough,

struggle sometimes.

He was the complete opposite.

If things were tough, he'd say, "Give me the ball,"

and he'd try to find a way to change things.

Barcelona have scored

what I think might be the winner!

FIGO GOALS 2

Here it is!

Who scored the winning goal yesterday?

Figo!

Don't stop, Figo, Figo!

Don't stop, Figo, Figo!

Don't stop, Figo, Figo! Don't stop…

You can get a Figo calendar, a postcard,

a poster,

and Figo's number-seven shirt.

It's truly Figo-mania.

Welcome to the Nou Camp.

And there's no bigger game than this.

It's Barcelona against Real Madrid.

El Clásico.

Here at the Nou Camp,

Barcelona can become

the 1997-98 league champions.

Playing against Luís Figo is to suffer.

Playing against Luís meant not sleeping well at night.

He was the captain of Barcelona, and my job was to mark him.

I knew what I had to do, but it was impossible.

He was number one in the world.

Barcelona can taste

the sweet victory of a league title.

To say that Figo was the symbol of the club

sums up perfectly his time at Barcelona.

I identified with the values of the club.

I defended them to the death.

And that's why I think I was seen as one of them.

I think there are certain people that should congratulate us.

Madrid crybabies! Bow down to the champions!

Madrid crybabies! Bow down to the champions!

Long live Barça!

Barcelona are the 1998-99 league champions!

This is their sixth league title of the '90s.

They've won as many titles this decade alone

as they have in the past 40 years.

Luís, first of all, congratulations.

Is this concrete evidence of Barcelona's current superiority?

Well, right now, I think Barça has amazing professionals,

amazing, uh, uh, players,

and we're definitely the best club in the world.

Champions, man!

We're the best.

Long live Barça!

We won the league two seasons in a row.

We won because we were the best.

- -

It was a fantastic period for me, and at such a young age.

It was also when I met my wife.

My first daughter was born in Barcelona.

The truth is, I was very happy.

It's 31st March.

Daniela just turned one,

and we're celebrating at home.

[people singing "Happy Birthday" in Spanish]

Do you remember Figo's last season?

Did he seem unhappy?

Did he mention anything about his contract?

No.

No, never.

He had a great knack of separating football

from life off the pitch. Uh…

I remember in his final months, there were so many rumors about that.

We talked about it. About how he was.

He said he was fine and what would be would be.

But he was his usual self.

I was happy in the city and at the club.

But what was important for me

was to feel valued for what I gave to the club.

Perhaps there were times when I didn't feel as valued

by those in charge at the club

compared to the team supporters, the fans.

For me, happiness was playing football

and the recognition I got.

I can't comment. I don't know what will happen.

But I hope things get resolved,

and we can all relax.

I was going to say, "Enjoy your time off," but you don't get time off.

-So, good luck at the Euros. -Thank you.

When you feel that way,

so people don't appreciate what you give,

then maybe there's another club that will acknowledge you.

["Zadok the Priest" by Handel plays through TV]

Despite yet another

disappointing season domestically, but Real Madrid are one game away

from conquering Europe once again.

Madrid face Valencia in an all-Spanish Champions League final.

[commentator speaking with growing excitement]

Real Madrid, three-nil!

Real Madrid can now count up to eight European Cups!