The Figo Affair: The Transfer That Changed Football

The summer of 2000. Luís Figo is Barcelona's captain and the crowd's favourite. Florentino Pérez, running for the Real Madrid presidency, makes a promise: if elected he will sign Figo, and if he cannot he will pay the members' subscriptions himself. Nobody takes it seriously. Figo's agent signs a contract; there is a penalty clause and stepping back has become very expensive for Figo. Pérez wins the election. The transfer happens. The documentary tells those few weeks and what followed: the return match, the stands, the objects thrown, and a pig's head. David Tryhorn directs. Luís Figo, Pep Guardiola, Roberto Carlos and Fernando Hierro are among those speaking. It was made for Netflix. Its most valuable side is that the parties speak separately; what the agent, the president and the player describe does not match. The narrative shows the transfer not as a football event but as a game of contracts; the decisive thing is the penalty clause. Footage of the return match at the Camp Nou is at its centre and the event holds a place of its own in football history. The documentary neither defends nor accuses Figo; it shows the mechanism of the decision and stops. Its limit is scope; the money system of football and the agent business are not opened enough. Another limit is form; the structure is the conventional sports documentary and there is no surprise. Who it is for: anyone curious about football history and transfer stories. Who it is not for: there is little new for those who know the subject and the narrative is shallow.