Real Madrid legend Luis Figo returned to the club on Saturday and discussed its chances of winning ... [+]
Real Madrid legend Luis Figo returned to the club on Saturday and discussed its chances of winning a Champions League and La Liga double while also giving Kylian Mbappe some advice through comments picked up by MARCA.
Like Galacticos-era ex-teammate Zinedine Zidane, who discussed his 2021 exit, Figo took part in a Real Madrid legends match at the Bernabeu during the international break and spoke after the full time whistle.
Questioned on Madrid's likelihood of repeating a 2021-2022 double in Spain and on the continent, which in theory would be a treble considering the Super Cup won at his former club FC Barcelona's expense in January, Figo said completing the mission will be "hard".
"It's easier in La Liga because Madrid has a big [eight-point] advantage. In the Champions League we are at a very important crossroads and I think that... It's hard," Figo reiterated with a laugh.
"Real Madrid and Manchester City have options [to win the UCL], then there's Bayern... On the other hand, there is PSG or FC Barcelona. I don't know, but I'm sure it's going to be a good final," Figo predicted.
Madrid and City stand in one another's way of progressing considering their quarterfinal clash next month. Los Blancos head coach Carlo Ancelotti called Pep Guardiola's men "one of the best teams in Europe", but Figo has an idea of how to prevent another defeat in the knockout round at the Etihad, as seen with a 4-0 pummelling in the last four second leg there last term.
"Well, as you all know, Manchester is a team that likes to dominate with the ball. If you manage to take it away and nullify the players who I think can make the difference in attack, in build-up play, then you have a lot to gain."
"Better than me, Ancelotti will know what he wants to do and the players [to do]. I'm Optimistic about what the match can be."
Whereas Figo and Zidane were Florentino Perez's Galactico world record-breaking captures in 2000 and 2001, the Madrid president can be viewed as trying to resurrect the movement through landing Jude Bellingham last summer and possibly Kylian Mbappe this one.
Figo joked that the Galactico era 1.0 "wasn't bad", meaning that the "2.0" version "will be fine too".
He said that Mbappe arriving on a free transfer "depends on a lot of things", but the Portuguese advised the Frenchman to make the switch from Paris Saint-Germain because ultimately "if we're talking about global prestige, there's no other team that can give you more than Real Madrid".
As for Mbappe being "the first of many stars", with reports from the likes of AS also linking Madrid to a 2025 approach for Erling Haaland, Figo says that it will be "complicated" for that to happen.
"There are players who can come in who have a contract, it's not the same as in the past. I see it as complicated in that sense. Madrid already have the best players in the world in their squad, it's not that they lack much," Figo suggested.
