Luis Figo Praises Barcelona's Strong Start but Cautions on LaLiga Race
Barcelona have opened the new season at full throttle, and even one of Real Madrid’s greatest icons cannot ignore it.
Seven games. Seven wins. Twenty-one points from a possible 21. Thirty-one goals scored. Hansi Flick’s Barcelona sit top of LaLiga with a perfect record and a six-point cushion over Real Madrid, a statement start that has forced admiration from an unlikely source.
A Madrid legend tips his hat
Speaking to Radio MARCA, Luis Figo – now a UEFA adviser but forever associated with the white of Real Madrid – did not try to play down what is happening in Catalonia.
“They have started very strong. They're winning, they're playing very well, they're scoring goals,” he said, a concise summary of a side that has blitzed almost everything in front of them so far.
Flick’s arrival has clearly lit a fire. Barcelona are not just winning; they are imposing themselves, piling up goals and points at a pace that already puts pressure on the rest of Spain.
Figo sees it the same way. For him, this is bigger than club rivalry.
“For Spanish football, logically, it is good,” he noted, acknowledging that a powerful Barcelona raises the level of the entire league.
Long season, familiar warning
Praise, yes. Complacency, no.
The Portuguese great moved quickly to underline the one truth every title race eventually bows to: the calendar.
“You have to see how the season goes, which is very long,” he warned.
It was a reminder that perfect starts do not guarantee perfect endings. Slumps arrive. Injuries bite. Pressure builds. That is where, in Figo’s eyes, the real test begins.
“There will be highs and lows during the season. When there are lows you have to have the maturity and also the quality to overcome them and move on,” he added.
His message was clear: Barcelona have set the pace, but the real race runs to May.
Figo backs Madrid to stay in the fight
Despite the six-point gap, Figo has not written off his old club. Far from it.
“Surely Madrid will compete until the end. This is a competition that has to be regular until May,” he insisted.
He has lived enough title chases to know that Real Madrid rarely disappear quietly. The expectation from one of their former stars is that they will absorb this early blow and respond, keeping the pressure on Flick’s side as the months roll by.
Barcelona may be flying, but in Figo’s mind, LaLiga remains a two-horse battle with plenty of track left.
Ballon d'Or talk – and a nod to Mbappe
Away from the league table, Figo also addressed the Ballon d'Or, with voting set to close on Monday. On that front, the 2000 winner kept his distance.
“Who has the power to decide is the one who votes. You have to wait to see what happens. I don't vote, so I don't have that problem in my head,” he said, refusing to pin his colours to any particular candidate.
He did, though, make time to single out Kylian Mbappe.
“He is always at a very high level. He's one of the best in the world, to score goals,” Figo concluded, underlining the Frenchman’s status among the game’s elite.
The wider debate continues to swirl. Despite Figo’s praise for Mbappe, current trends point towards Lamine Yamal as a leading name in the conversation, with his Barcelona teammate Rodri and Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane also firmly in the running.
Barcelona are setting the standard on the pitch. Their young stars are driving the awards talk off it. The numbers are dazzling, the noise is growing – now the question is whether Flick’s side can carry this ruthless edge all the way through a long, unforgiving season.
