Legendary Real Madrid player Luis Figo has disclosed the reasons behind the failure of a summer 2005 deal to Liverpool.
In the summer of 2005, Luis Figo disclosed how close he was to joining Liverpool.
After the Reds’ victory in the Champions League final in Istanbul in 2000, the 2000 Ballon d’Or winner, whose contract with Real Madrid was about to expire, held negotiations with the team.
Although he acknowledged that the move had been near, the 32-year-old Portuguese blames Liverpool for the fact that the deal was never finalized.
Figo responded to GOAL, “Yes, it was a possibility at that time.” “I was negotiating with Rafa (Benitez), and it was close, but for various reasons, it ultimately fell through.
“I chose not to go there since Liverpool was struggling at the time and was undecided about whether to sign me.
“Every week they would say, ‘We’re waiting to do this,’ and then they would sign one player. I don’t know what they were waiting for.” “We’re waiting,” they sign off with another.
“Come on, this can’t happen, I can’t wait too long,” I pleaded.
In July 2005, Bolo Zenden, Pepe Reina, Momo Sissoko, and Peter Crouch were signed by Liverpool, while Figo joined Internazionale at the beginning of August.
In the end, the Portuguese player had no regrets about switching to the San Siro instead of holding out for the Reds, as he won four Serie A titles and the Coppa Italia, finishing with 11 goals and 36 assists in 140 games before retiring in 2009.
He said, “I made the decision to follow what was more certain and safe at that particular time.” It came about following my encounter with Massimo Moratti, the owner of Inter at the time.
“Playing for Inter was, in my opinion, the ideal choice. I owe a debt of gratitude to my supporters for their love and support throughout a pivotal time in my career. There, I felt incredibly loved and cared for. They were four incredible years in my opinion.
Figo moved to Madrid from fierce rivals Barcelona in one of the most dramatic and well-publicized transactions in football history earlier in his career.
