People have lots of words to describe Luis Figo.

Football God. Traitor. Prima donna. Galáctico. Genius. That was who Luis Figo was on the football pitch.

Philanthropist. Father. Husband. That was who Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo was on the football pitch. It was a fairy tale story to a fantastic personality of the game. It seems like ages ago when that only child from Cova da Piedade was already dreaming big; and he had the tools to make it reality. His ability to tie the ball to his boots, blow by defenders and set up his teammates from the wing made him become one of the preeminent players of the past quarter century.

His elegance playing the game was matched only by style off of it. Figo never had a hair out of place- whether it was at a party, an appearance, or in the 73rd minute of a semifinal. He was impeccable. He was never stressed- or so it seemed.

There will be two things that everyone will agree upon is the fact that he was one of the greatest players of the past 20 years and that his wife is hot. For that you have to admire him. For that you want to wring his neck.

As a player, he had a style all his own and resurrected a national team that had been in footballistic purgatory for well over a generation. He was the poster child of that Portuguese "Golden Generation" that won the U-20 World Cup and started to gather steam in the European game. If there was a player that was predestined to make something out of his footballing career it was him and he did so from the time he stepped on the pitch with Sporting Lisbon.

Barcelona brought him in with open arms and there he flourished into the best player in the world. There was no doubt that he was the catalyst that opened the game up for players like Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Patrick Kluivert, Stoichkov, and a host of others that won titles during the latter part of the '90s dizzying up the crowds at the Nou Camp with victory lap after victory lap. But there seemed to be one thing missing-

Eventually, like many of its idols, Barcelona and yet another idol mutually burned their bridges and he found his way to Real Madrid.

"How could this be?"

You can understand the fans' sadness that later on turned to anger and even vitriol towards "their guy". It was betrayal to them. It was "more than a relationship" that Figo had with the Barca faithful. So to see him leave for what was only money was part of what made him look like a mercenary. After promising the same Barcelona faithful that gave him their unconditional love, it was a slap in the face that would ever be forgiven. Moreover, he was given one of the most sacred symbols that could be given to a player at the club- the captain's armband.

His then-record signing was the begin of what was one of the most hateful relationships between a former player and fans. For Real Madrid it was the beginning of an era, and ironically he would symbolize the end of. As a Merengue he evolved into a different player- a player that became the poster child of hatred. He was the poster child of Florentino Perez' grand scheme to see Real Madrid rule the football world. Madrid would be the team that had a superstar in every position- two or three deep. At first it was a success. They won their ninth Champions League title with him and alongside Zinedine Zidane. Then came a European Super Cup and an Intercontinental Cup as well. As more Galácticos joined the fray, Figo started to be upstaged by his fellow colleagues. Whether it was because of skill (Zidane) or marketing (Beckham), Figo was quickly becoming a forgotten man.

Will he go to MLS, highly doubtful. There is nothing more he needs to prove, he already felt like his health was deteriorating after having recuperated from a leg fracture last season. He left the way any player would like to leave- a winner.