1) Luis Figo: Barcelona to Real Madrid – £51m
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Many players have crossed the Madrid-Barca divide such as Michael Laudrup and Ronaldo but Luis Figo’s transfer caused an uproar due to the fact that he was cherished by the Catalan faithful before he made the decision to switch the Blaugrana for the Blancos when he was in his prime.
But Real Madrid had triggered his buyout clause – a move approved by Florentino Perez as he kickstarted the Galacticos era and, in true Hollywood villain fashion, he wanted to send a message. The Barcelona fans responded by throwing bottles, cigarette lighters and even a pig’s head at Figo during the Clasico when he took corner kicks. The referee even had to suspend the game for 20 minutes due to the commotion near the corner flags.
Figo would win the league title in his first season with Real and he would eventually win a Champions League title with Real Madrid in 2002 following the arrival of Zinedine Zidane. After five years with Real, Figo moved to Inter Milan on a free transfer.
Also read: History of how the football transfer record was broken over the last century
