Netflix to release documentary on Luis Figo’s controversial transfer from Barcelona to Real Madrid

Streaming giants Netflix are going to release a documentary focused on one of football’s most controversial transfers ever, Luis Figo’s move from Barcelona to Real Madrid. 

The documentary is titled ‘EL Caso Figo’ which translates as ‘The Figo Affair’, is in Spanish and will give fans an insight into how one of the most talked about transfers ever in the world of football came about. You can watch the trailer below.

It will include interviews with the likes of Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, Manchester City manager and then Barcelona player Pep Guardiola and of course Figo himself as they unpick the details of the transfer.

Netflix’s director of documentary features, Jonny Taylor commissioned the film and it is directed by Pitch Production’s David Tryhorn and Ben Nicholas. Pitch previously directed Netflix’s Pele biopic and is now returning to work alongside the streaming platform on the Figo documentary. 

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Max Dobbyn, Pitch’s head of documentaries told Broadcast: “This is the definitive account of this story, which is the most controversial, explosive transfer in history.

“It also highlights Pitch’s USP, which is foreign-language documentaries.”  

He added: “It’s increasingly hard to find sports documentaries that are saying something new, that aren’t simply biographies or histories of sporting successes, so we believe El Caso Figo is unique.  

“Focusing on the transfer rather than Figo’s career, the film informs us about truth, greed, morality, and the inner workings of the world’s most popular sport. 

“We wanted the film to feel like a Hitchcockian thriller, one that plays with notions of the truth. We also only wanted to interview people with first-hand testimonies of the transfer so that the drama could play out in the present tense.  

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“Everyone, from Florentino Pérez to Pep Guardiola, was generous with their time but Luís Figo was particularly accommodating, desperate as he was to finally set the record straight after two decades of avoiding the question of his transfer.” 

The production company’s chief operating officer, Jonathan Rogers also spoke about the upcoming release. 

He said: “El Caso Figo marks the next phase in Pitch Production’s evolution. It demonstrates our desire to break new ground in sports documentary at a key time in the genre’s evolution, when more sporting stories are being told than ever before.” 

‘El Caso Figo’ is scheduled to be released on 25 August.