The signing that ushered in the Galactico era, Real Madrid set a new world record after signing Luis Figo from arch-rivals Barcelona in 2000. Figo won the Ballon d’Or just months after his arrival in the Spanish capital and embarked on a period of success on the opposite side of the El Clasico divide.

Although now wearing the white shirt of Real Madrid, he won the Ballon d'Or award in November 2000, largely for what he did for Barcelona, where he became the best in the world. By the second or third corner I turned to Luís Figo and said: 'Forget it, mate. You're on your own'.

"Luis Figo launches Fifa presidency manifesto by saying World Cups could be staged over two continents". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2015. ^ "And then there were two…Luis Figo drops out of FIFA presidential race". World Soccer. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.

As a result, Barcelona swooped in, signed Figo for just £2.25 million. Whilst at Barca, Figo won seven trophies. He won the UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1996/97 and back to back La Liga titles. Three of his trophies at Barcelona were domestic cups. Figo played a total of 172 times for the Catalonian club, scoring 30 times.