Luis Figo Was Blocked From Joining Liverpool Because of Two Players

Former Barcelona and Real Madrid winger Luis Figo was once heavily linked with a move to Liverpool – but a switch was ‘blocked’ by two players.

Luis Figo: From Camp Nou Villain to Almost a Liverpool Red

Luis Figo, the 2000 Ballon d’Or winner and one of football’s most gifted right-wingers, remains one of the most controversial figures in Spanish football history. The Portuguese icon dazzled throughout the late 90s and early 2000s, but his infamous decision to swap Barcelona for bitter rivals Real Madrid in 2000 made him a permanent villain in Catalonia.

Two years later, when Figo returned to the Camp Nou with Madrid, the atmosphere turned hostile beyond belief. Barca fans showered the pitch with missiles, including coins, bottles, and most notoriously, the head of a suckling pig. At one stage, club captain Carles Puyol pleaded with the crowd for calm, but abuse and objects continued to rain down, forcing a 16-minute stoppage. The match finished 0-0, but the night became one of the most unforgettable – and chaotic – in El Clásico history.

Despite winning two La Liga titles, two Copa del Reys, and a UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup during his five years in Catalonia, Figo was never forgiven by the Blaugrana faithful. Still, at his peak, he would have walked into virtually any side in the world — yet he never played in the Premier League.

That could have changed in 2005. Figo later revealed he was close to joining Liverpool, only for the move to collapse at the last minute.

“I would have liked to go [to Liverpool],” he told The Guardian in 2022. “We talked a lot. One week they’d say, ‘No, wait, not yet,’ and then they signed someone else. Then again, ‘Wait a few more days,’ and they signed another. I thought, ‘Are you messing with me?’ Then Inter appeared, I met president Massimo Moratti, and I decided to join. It was exactly what I needed — and I loved it.”

Liverpool’s business that summer effectively shut the door on Figo. The Reds brought in two wide men instead: Boudewijn Zenden from Middlesbrough and Mark González from Albacete.

Zenden went on to play 47 times for Liverpool, helping them reach the 2007 Champions League final before later spells at Marseille and Sunderland. González, meanwhile, struggled with work permit issues, spending 2005/06 on loan at Real Sociedad before making just 36 appearances for the Reds across two seasons. He later played for Real Betis, CSKA Moscow, and clubs across South America.

Figo, of course, thrived at Inter, winning four Serie A titles and cementing his legacy as one of Europe’s finest wingers — though for Liverpool fans, the thought of him in red remains a tantalising “what if.”