Real Madrid One of football's most controversial deals

In 2000, Florentino Perez achieved the impossible by convincing Luis Figo to leave Barcelona for eternal rivals Real Madrid, and he admits it was not an easy task.

Figo moved to Madrid for a world record fee of 60 million euros, and was the first in a long line of big-money signings to arrive at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.

"Nobody had spent 60 million euros in 2000," Perez told FOX Sports.

"I convinced him but it was not easy, he was the captain of Barcelona!

"It was like ripping out the hearts of our countrymen."

Perez promised the Portuguese that the Real Madrid team would be built around him, and delivered on his world when he added a string of Galactico signings.

"I told him that we wanted to build this project around him," he added.

"Then came [Zinedine] Zidane, Ronaldo, [David] Beckham, and we created the phenomenon of the Galacticos."

Since those days, Real Madrid have gone from strength to strength, and the president feels that their current status as European champions is one that they deserve.

"After the Galacticos we tried to follow up with players like Cristiano [Ronaldo], Kaka, [Karim] Benzema and [Gareth] Bale.

"The greatest players help you grow in a sporting context but also economically.

"We now occupy a position in the world that I think we deserve."