Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic has been linked with a move to Real Madrid and could follow in the footsteps of his footballing idol Luis Figo.
Figo spent five years as a player at Los Blancos, becoming one of the most controversial players in Spanish football history after making the move from bitter rivals Barcelona in 2000. After almost 250 appearances in the red and blue of Barca, Figo infamously had a pig's head thrown at him from the stands on his return to the Camp Nou with Real Madrid, where he scored 57 goals in 245 matches.
Figo was among the best players of his generation, and speaking in an interview with chelseafc.com, Pulisic spoke of his admiration for the 127-time capped Portugal international. He said: "My first footballing idol was definitely Luis Figo. He’s someone I looked up to when I was younger.
"The first shirt I owned was a Luis Figo jersey and I remember wearing it when playing football with my dad in the basement at home back in Hershey. In fact, my nickname then was actually Figo! My Dad started it and sometimes he even still calls me it now."
Pulisic is among a host of players who could leave Stamford Bridge in the summer following Chelsea's £330 million transfer spree in January. He had been in good form following his World Cup exploits with USA, but picked up an injury in the defeat to Manchester City in Chelsea's first game of 2023.
Pulisic has not played since then, and in that time, the Blues have brought in a number of attacking reinforcements, including wingers Mykaylo Mudryk and Noni Madueke. Graham Potter now has a very over-inflated squad at his disposal and Pulisic is one of many who has been tipped to leave at the end of the season, and could complete a childhood dream of playing for his first idol's club Real Madrid, if reports of their interest are correct.
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