Figo warns Real Madrid as Barcelona dominates La Liga
Luis Figo has never been afraid of a storm. He created one when he crossed the Clasico divide in 2000, walking out of Barcelona and into the white heat of the Bernabeu. Now, with Real Madrid stumbling through one of their worst starts in recent memory, he has lit another fuse — this time with a cold, uncomfortable truth for his old club.
Six points off the top. Barcelona perfect. And Figo, a lifelong Madridista despite his Barça past, is not dressing it up.
“La Liga could be settled before May”
Speaking to Spanish radio station Marca, the former Ballon d'Or winner could only admire the relentlessness coming out of Catalonia. Barcelona have taken 21 points from 21, hammering in 31 goals along the way. That is not a good run. That is domination.
“They have started very strongly. They are winning, playing well and scoring goals. For Spanish football, this is of course a good thing,” Figo said, acknowledging the spectacle even as it hurts his own colours.
The warning followed quickly. If this pace holds, the league race might not even reach its traditional spring drama.
His message was clear: keep this up and the title could be effectively wrapped up before May.
He did, though, leave the door open to a twist. “We have to wait and see how the season develops, because it is very long.” A reminder that seasons are marathons, not sprints — even when one team has exploded off the line.
Faith in Madrid’s response
For all the admiration of Barcelona’s start, Figo did not sound like a man writing off Real Madrid. Far from it.
“I am sure Real Madrid will compete until the end,” he insisted, backing the club he joined in that seismic summer of 2000 to find a response.
He framed La Liga as a test of stamina and nerve, not just talent. “This is a competition that requires consistency until the month of May. There will be ups and downs during the season, and when they happen the team must show the maturity and quality to overcome them.”
That is the challenge now facing Madrid: to turn a stuttering opening into a long, grinding pursuit. Six points is not fatal in October. It becomes a crisis if the team cannot show the “maturity and quality” Figo demands.
Derby defeat and Mourinho’s fury
The latest blow came in the city derby. A 2-0 defeat to Atletico on Sunday deepened the gloom around Madrid and sharpened questions about their direction.
Figo, though, watched it from afar — literally. He revealed he had not seen the match because he was in Zurich, and he refused to be dragged into the fallout around Jose Mourinho’s angry comments about the refereeing.
“He did what he thought he would do at that moment. I do not have to comment on it. I think these are personal acts, and if he did it, it was because he felt that way,” Figo said, stepping carefully around the controversy.
No defence. No criticism. Just a line drawn: Mourinho owns his words, and Figo is not stepping into that ring.
Ballon d'Or and a word on Mbappé
The conversation then moved away from the Clasico axis and onto individual glory. With Ballon d'Or voting closing next Monday, Figo was asked for his view. He immediately distanced himself from the debate.
“I do not vote, so this is not on my mind. Those who make the decision are the ones who vote and we have to wait,” he said, refusing to play kingmaker in a race he no longer directly influences.
He did, however, reserve special praise for one man: Kylian Mbappé.
“He is always at a very high level. He has got us used to being one of the best players in the world and to scoring goals,” Figo said, underlining the Frenchman’s status as a constant at the top of the game.
It was a simple tribute, but a telling one. In a season where Real Madrid are chasing form and Barcelona are setting the pace, Mbappé remains the fixed point of European football’s present — and, perhaps, its future.
Figo’s words leave the question hanging over Madrid: can they turn this shaky start into a genuine title fight, or will Barcelona’s “irresistible” surge make his early warning look prophetic by the time May finally arrives?
