Luis Figo backs Real Madrid’s summer rebuild and calls for transfer fees to be curbed

Real Madrid made the right moves in the summer transfer window by strengthening positions where the squad needed reinforcements, according to club great Luis Figo, who also warned that football’s record transfer fees have become unsustainable.

Speaking on the VigosoFadas podcast, the former Portugal international praised Real Madrid’s recruitment after two seasons without a major trophy. He said the club had focused more on solving squad weaknesses than on simply signing the biggest names.

“I think Real Madrid signed very well. They brought in players they needed in important positions: centre-back, the full-backs and a winger such as Diomande,” Figo said.

“Generally speaking, the signings were excellent, and they were driven more by necessity than by names.”

Figo believes the changes were important not only for the squad’s competitive strength but also for the mood around the club. Real Madrid’s supporters, he argued, needed a reason to approach the new campaign with renewed optimism after the lack of silverware in the previous two seasons.

“It was necessary to take this step and strengthen the team after the last two years without a trophy,” he added. “That is important for the atmosphere, so that the fans can welcome the season with greater hope and feel that this year will be positive.”

The 52-year-old also criticised the escalating fees being paid in the transfer market, although he accepted that spending is influenced by clubs’ financial resources and the rules governing financial fair play.

“At some point, this has to stop,” Figo said. “It is true that it depends on the clubs’ budgets and the financial fair play rules, but the figures are far too high.”

His comments came as part of a wider reflection on the changing economics of football. Figo rejected the idea that clubs can automatically justify enormous transfer fees through commercial income, such as shirt sales.

“I do not think a deal worth 150m euros can be recovered, as they always say, through selling shirts, for example,” he said. “These deals can work from a sporting point of view, but financially it is very complicated.”

Figo said the scale of modern spending was difficult to imagine when he was playing. He noted that almost 30 years had passed since his own time at the top of the game, when he already regarded the transfer fees of the era as excessive.

“Almost 30 years have passed since my time,” he said. “At that time, I thought the amounts being paid were crazy. But the development of the markets has led them to pay even crazier amounts for some transfers.”

Figo, who played for Real Madrid from 2000 to 2005, won two La Liga titles and the 2002 UEFA Champions League with the Spanish club. His assessment of Real Madrid’s summer business was therefore delivered with approval, but alongside a clear warning that the wider transfer market cannot continue expanding without limits.

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