As he belted a ball around the slum streets of Lisbon, the young Nani fantasised about being Luis Figo. Now, on the eve of his first season with Manchester United, the 21-year-old has received glowing praise from his idol. These days there is a new bench-mark for Portuguese flair players - Cristiano Ronaldo, a club-mate of Nani. “He [Nani] is a young player with a lot of quality,” Figo said. “Nani can prove a lot coming to a league like England with one of the best teams in the world; he’s got a great future.” Can he be as good as Ronaldo? “It depends how he adapts and integrates, but I think so because he has the qualities to be great.” As Figo was. In 2000, Real Madrid paid £37 million to prise him from Barcelona, their fierce rivals. But Real bought a symbol as much as a player: Figo, brooding but brilliant, was one of the first galácticos, giving the club credibility through celebrity. It was one of the most controversial transfers in history. Figo and Ronaldo share a strength of character that allowed them to flourish despite the violent animosity of opposition fans.
Ronaldo faced invective after his involvement in Wayne Rooney’s sending-off in the World Cup quarter-final last year; against Barcelona, Figo had to dodge a whisky bottle, golf balls, even a pig’s head when he returned to the Nou Camp as a Real player in 2002. “I don’t think any athlete in the world faced the same atmosphere as that night,” Figo said at the launch of Inter Milan’s new kit at Niketown in London. “In the end, I was very satisfied because I won the league and I think I was a much better player.”