Perez reveals secrets of Figo's signings

10 August 2017: Florentino Perez, newly elected Real Madrid president, shocked the world 17 years ago when he paid $6o million to sign Barcelona captain Luis Figo.

Perez revealed the secrets of this signing in an interview with Fox Sports on Wednesday.

“Nobody had spent €60 million ($70.6M) in 2000. I convinced him, but it was not easy. He was the captain of Barcelona. It was like ripping out the hearts of our countrymen," Perez stated to Fox Sports.

Perez revealed how he convinced Figo to leave Barcelona to join their rivals, Real Madrid, saying, “I told him that we wanted to build this project around him. Then came Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo Nazario, David Beckham, and we created the phenomenon of the Galacticos."

Perez had two periods in charge of Real Madrid, from 2000 to 2006 and from 2009 to present.

Perez talked about Real Madrid’s strategy to sign the biggest names in football, saying, “After the Galacticos, we tried to follow up with players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale.”

Perez is happy with Real Madrid’s position in the world, which came after a huge effort. He said, “We now occupy a position in the world that I think we deserve."

Real Madrid won four Champions League titles during Perez’s two spells as the club’s chairman. They won the title in 2002, 2014, 2016 and 2017.