SAO PAULO – The former Portuguese soccer player Luis Figo He recalled his controversial transfer from Barcelona to Real Madrid, of which he still said he felt “extremely happy”, and chose the former striker Ronaldo Nazário as the best Brazilian with whom he played throughout his extensive sports career.
The former Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan player said in an interview with Fox Sports Brazil this Wednesday that for two decades he was “lucky” to play with some of the best Brazilians in the world at the time, among whom he cited to Rivaled, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Adriano and Giovanni.
“Ronaldo was the one who impressed me the most, both at Barcelona and at Real Madrid. In Barcelona, when he did not have many injuries, he showed all his qualities. He did not need to do much to make a difference. That is to be special,” he confessed.
The former Portuguese winger also reviewed important moments in his career as a footballer, including his arrival and departure from Real Madrid.
In this sense, he insisted that his controversial departure from Barcelona towards the eternal rival, in 2000, was “a personal decision” that the passing of the years also demonstrated to him that it was a “right” choice.
“I am extremely happy about the decision I made,” he said Wednesday.
Five years later, he abandoned the white discipline and today he returned to target the Brazilian coach Vanderlei Luxembourg as one of those responsible for his departure.
“The beginning of my relationship with him was normal, as a coach and player, but then things deteriorated a bit and I ended up leaving Real Madrid because of the coach’s decisions, for not playing,” he said.
“They were not technical reasons, but other reasons. The experience (with Luxembourg) started normally, but ended up ending quite negatively,” he added.
On the other hand, Figo praised the work of his compatriot Jorge Jesus as coach of Flamengo, after winning in 2019 the Brazilian League, the Copa Libertadores and reaching the final of the Club World Cup, and regretted not having coincided with him while he was active.
“He is one of the coaches that I admire the most, for everything he did, not only in Portugal, but in all the countries he passed through. I was never lucky enough to work with him, but I am curious. He is top,” he said. .
He also said that in the last year the coach showed “his potential” in the reins of the Rio de Janeiro team, something not “easy” in Brazil, where “competition is very strong.”
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