Figo still unable to leave Real Madrid

Jul 8, 2005, 11:02 GMT

Madrid - The expensive but unbalanced Real Madrid squad reported for pre-season training on Friday morning, with Luis Figo surprisingly among the "Galacticos" back on parade.

It was expected that the Portuguese winger would have left Madrid by now, after his much-publicized scuffles with new coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo.

But no club has been able to match Figo's extravagant Real salary (over six million euros per season) at the same time as paying a decent transfer fee.

The official interest of Manchester United and Olympique Lyon seem to have petered out. Liverpool are prepared to pay Figo almost as much as Real, but the obstacle now is the three-million transfer fee that the whites are demanding.

If an agreement with Liverpool, or any other club, is not forthcoming within a week then Figo, 32, will go on the club's money-spinning tour of American and Asia.

Figo, of course, was the first "Galactico" signed five years ago by Real president Florentino Perez, who splashed out 60 million euros to controversially snatch him from Barcelona.

A similar situation right now surrounds little Javier Saviola, whom Barcelona are desperate to offload. The same as with Figo, the obstacle is Saviola's six-million salary.

Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Zaragoza, Espanyol, Stuttgart and Middlesborugh are all interested in the little forward, but are unwilling to match his Barca wages.

Saviola,23, was sent packing from the Camp Nou - loaned out to Monaco - a year ago when he became the only member of the Barca squad to refuse a wage decrease.