Luis Figo
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Had his first international cap in 1991 and has won the Under-20 World Championships with Portugal and the Under-16 European Championships.
Moved to FC Barcelona in 1995, not before he was disputed by Juventus and AC Parma, which he had signed a double contract, under risk of a lenghty ban. the situation was eventually solved, and in four years be became a fan-favourite, captain and symbol of the catalan side.
In 2000 he to Barcelona's arch-rival, Real Madrid, for a record-breaking £37,000,000 only intensified the great animosity between the two clubs. There was a short lived website (antifigo.com) devoted to insult "judas Figo", missed his highly anticipated first return to the Nou Camp due to injury, in 2002 Barcelona's ground was banned after objects were thrown at Figo, and finally, during the final match between Greece and Portugal in the UEFA Euro 2004 championships, a Barcelona fan ran across the field and threw a FC Barcelona flag at Figo in an apparent act of defiance (see Jimmy Jump).
Already a great winger at the beginning of his career, Figo eventually became one of the best players of the world, and undoubtedly the best winger of his generation. His dazzling dribbling and the amazing amount of assists (Figo confesses that he enjoys assisting as much as scoring) assured him success and fame all over the world.
Luis Figo is nowadays one of the main Portuguese symbols and ambassadors. Many Portuguese travelling outside southern Europe get "Oh!! Figo! Figo!" as a reply, when saying they are Portuguese.
He was 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year and is arguably one of the great all-time players.
On August 18, 2004, Figo announced that he would "take a break" from international football.
Figo has got married to Helen Svedin. They have two children.
Titles earned
See also: List of footballers (soccer), FIFA 100, Portugal national football team
