Gaspart forced me out of Barca, claims Figo

Luis Figo has broken his silence over last summer's controversial transfer to Real Madrid, claiming that Barcelona president Joan Gaspart left him with no choice but to quit.

The Portuguese midfielder claims Gaspart, who was vice-president of the club at the time, gave him an ultimatum after he asked the club for an improved deal.

"At first I asked for a meeting with the club president Josep Lluis Nunez," said the 28-year-old. "I wanted to ask for a pay rise as recognition of the great season I had just had and all the hard work I had put in.

"But Gaspart arranged a secret meeting with me and warned that if I did not accept the contract that was put forward, the club would agree to sell me to anyone offering the £37 million stipulated in the buy-out clause."

Figo said he was shocked at Gaspart's stance and knew he would have to leave. "The offer he gave me to stay on at Barcelona was shameful. When I heard what they were going to give me I was left with only one option," he raged.

"I told him then that other clubs were interested in me. They were prepared to meet the buy-out clause and pay me double what I was on at Barca. I thought it was necessary to lay my cards on the table, but all I got were negative responses."

"The offer from Real Madrid did not arrive until after I had returned from Euro 2000," he added.

Figo, who won the Ballon d'Or in 2000, also felt aggrieved at the double standards shown by the sports papers in Catalonia. "When I played in Barcelona the daily press would lick my backside," he said.

"But that was because they needed me to help them sell their newspapers. If they write fairly and are right in what they say, then that's fine, but they just attempted to denigrate and defame me."