Liverpool could have added Luis Figo to their squad just weeks after winning the Champions League in 2005, and it turns out the move got pretty far.
The Portuguese star was leaving Real Madrid and Liverpool were a serious option. There were talks and interest from Figo’s side, but the Reds took too long to sort things out.
That opened the door for Inter Milan, who were much quicker. Figo signed for them instead and eventually finished his career in Italy.
As relayed by Spanish newspaper Sport, Figo has now explained exactly what happened.
“The reason was the timing and financial availability that depended on decisions Liverpool had to make,” he said. “The club took a long time to decide and at that point I had to make a quick decision about my future. I couldn’t wait.”
Liverpool delay gave Inter their chance
Figo left Real Madrid in the summer of 2005, shortly after Rafa Benitez’s side had beaten AC Milan in Istanbul. Liverpool were European champions and suddenly had the chance to add a Ballon d’Or winner to their squad.
He was 32 by then, so this wasn’t Liverpool missing out on Figo at his absolute peak. Still, he had just completed five seasons at Real Madrid and remained one of the biggest names in European football.
The move appears to have depended partly on Liverpool getting their finances in order. Figo simply wasn’t prepared to wait indefinitely for that to happen.
Inter then came along and made things much easier.
“Inter appeared afterwards and things were sorted out quickly with a meeting I had with president Moratti,” Figo explained. “From that point onwards, there was no going back.”
Massimo Moratti’s ability to get everything done quickly therefore made the difference. Liverpool had their opportunity, but Inter gave Figo the certainty he wanted.
The club Figo wanted to experience
The Portuguese star grew up watching Liverpool’s success in Europe and admits they were perhaps the one club he would have liked to represent.
“When I was little, Liverpool had a big presence in Europe,” he said. “Maybe Liverpool was the club I would have liked to play for and didn’t sign for.”
Figo doesn’t spend much time wondering what might have happened, though.
“I’ve been lucky enough to play for the best teams in the world and I’m happy with that. I don’t feel like I was missing out on fulfilling that wish.”
His alternative worked out pretty well anyway. Figo spent four seasons at Inter and won four consecutive Serie A titles before retiring in 2009.
At least now we know that twenty-one years ago, they had a European champion squad and one of the world’s most famous footballers interested in joining it. They just couldn’t make their decision quickly enough.
