Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique has suggested he could become the first person in history to play for both Barcelona and Real Madrid, managing both sides of the Clásico divide. Unsurprisingly, his name is not mentioned as a candidate to replace Carlo Ancelotti when the Italian leaves.
Admittedly, he burst out laughing after momentarily making the Barcelona-based journalist's jaw drop, and while stranger things have happened, more than a few Madridistas are more likely to be rolling in their graves. Ahead of a new documentary celebrating Barcelona's 125th anniversary, Luis Enrique also recalled the match that had the most impact on him in terms of atmosphere at Camp Nou.
“The match I witnessed at Camp Nou with the most atmosphere was the day Figo returned,” he told TV3.
“Figo was a brother to us, a real brother to us. He was our best player and he went to Real Madrid. Camp Nou is a stadium, you arrive there half an hour in advance and it's half empty. You went outside to warm up, and there aren't many people. That day it was packed to the brim 45 minutes in advance. We couldn't hear ourselves warming up.”
'Lucho' explained that there was no chance they would have lost due to the noise coming from the stands.
“I remember saying to Pitu [Abelardo]”I think Pep was also there, 'it is impossible that we lose today.' There was an energy, it was even scary.”
'I remember, Puyi [Carles Puyol] marked Figo, a very young Puyi, but he was a beast. Figo was the best for Real Madrid, but because of the pressure, a pressure I couldn't even imagine, I said: 'What the hell is this?' And we won the match because it was impossible not to win it.”
The story goes that Luis Figo's agent signed a contract with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, agreeing that Figo would move to Los Blancos if Perez came to power. The deal meant that Figo would receive a decent compensation if it didn't happen, and at the time Perez was an outsider for the position, but the financial penalty for not fulfilling the contract played a part in his decision to join the club to go. Spanish capital. However, it is understandable that this is considered the biggest betrayal in Barcelona's history. Luis Enrique is one of about 30 players to have played for both, but his move pales in comparison.
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