Former Real Madrid legend Luis Figo has revealed that he would have loved to move to Anfield but he was disappointed with the failed transfer.
When the 32-year-old Figo realised his time at Real Madrid was drawing to an end, he began looking for a new team. If Liverpool had acted sooner to secure his services, they very well may have been that club.
As Liverpool rode high in the summer of 2005 following their Champions League victory in Istanbul, Rafa Benitez wanted to strengthen his team. Momo Sissoko, Peter Crouch, Pepe Reina, Mark Gonzalez, and Bolo Zenden were all added by Benitez to his first-team lineup, but the team had also planned a bold move to sign Figo.
It was reported that the 32-year-old had reached an agreement on a £50,000 per week contract with Liverpool. Although the Reds were stated to be confident that a transfer would be completed for free, Real Madrid was reportedly seeking a £2 million fee.
However, Figo, switched to Inter Milan as Liverpool was unable to close the agreement with him. And now after several years, the Galactico has discussed how close he was to signing for Liverpool in 2005 in an interview with the Guardian.
He said:
“I would have liked to go. We talked a lot. One week they say, ‘No, wait, we can’t do it just now and then they sign a player. Then, ‘Wait a few more days, we need to sort this first’ and they sign another. I think: ‘Are you messing with me, or what?’
“Inter appears, I go to Milan, meet [club president Massimo] Moratti and take the decision. I loved Inter, it was exactly what I needed.”
To the disappointment of the former Barcelona and Madrid great, Figo’s transfer to Liverpool was never in his fate. Teaming up with Steven Gerrard at Anfield would have been the stuff of fantasies and would have given the Premier League a glimpse of another world star.
Even though it happened a long time ago, Liverpool, whose transfer business was anything but smooth, may look back on it as a significant chance lost.
