Luis Figo warns: La Liga title could be decided early

Real Madrid have lived through turbulent starts before, but this one is cutting a little deeper. Six points off the top, chasing a Barcelona side that have not just started well but started perfectly, one of the club’s great modern icons has stepped forward to say what many in Madrid fear: if this continues, the title race might not even reach the spring.

And it is Luis Figo saying it.

Figo’s blunt verdict on Barcelona’s “perfect” start

The man who once crossed the Clasico divide and lit up the Bernabeu with his defiant swagger spoke to Spanish radio station “Marca” and did not bother with diplomatic phrasing. Barcelona, he admitted, are flying.

• Seven games.
• Seven wins.
• Twenty-one points from 21.
• Thirty-one goals scored.

“They have started very strongly. They are winning, playing well and scoring goals. For Spanish football, this is of course a good thing,” Figo said, acknowledging a start that has left the rest of La Liga scrambling in their wake.

Then came the warning shot, one that will sting in Madrid: if this level holds, the league could be over long before May. It is not panic. It is realism from someone who understands the grind of a title race and the psychological weight of a runaway leader.

Yet Figo did not completely surrender to the idea of an early coronation. “We have to wait and see how the season develops, because it is very long,” he added, a reminder that autumn form does not always survive the winter.

Faith in Madrid’s response

For all the praise he heaped on Barcelona, Figo refused to write off the club where he became a Galactico. The gap is real, the pressure is mounting, but he sees something else in Madrid’s DNA: endurance.

“I am sure Real Madrid will compete until the end,” he insisted.

This was not empty rhetoric. Figo went straight to the heart of what wins leagues. “This is a competition that requires consistency until the month of May. There will be ups and downs during the season, and when they happen the team must show the maturity and quality to overcome them.”

It was both a diagnosis and a challenge. Madrid, already bruised by a 2-0 derby defeat to Atletico, need to show that maturity now, not in some distant decisive run-in. The calendar says it is early. The table says the margin for error is already shrinking.

Derby defeat and Mourinho’s fury kept at arm’s length

That loss to Atletico on Sunday might have been expected to dominate any Madrid conversation. Not for Figo. He admitted he had not even watched it, explaining he was in Zurich at the time, and he refused to wade into the storm whipped up by his compatriot Jose Mourinho over the refereeing.

Mourinho’s post-match complaints have already ignited debate, but Figo stayed firmly on the sidelines.

“He did what he thought he would do at that moment. I do not have to comment on it. I think these are personal acts, and if he did it, it was because he felt that way.”

No defence. No criticism. Just a clear line: Mourinho owns his words; Figo will not be dragged into that battle. At a time when every Madrid controversy tends to snowball, the former Ballon d’Or winner chose distance over drama.

Ballon d’Or and a nod to Mbappe’s relentless standards

When the conversation shifted to the Ballon d’Or, with voting closing next Monday, Figo stepped away from the spotlight again. He has lifted the trophy, he knows what it represents, but he wanted no part in the current verdict.

“I do not vote, so this is not on my mind. Those who make the decision are the ones who vote and we have to wait.”

No lobbying. No favourites. Just a reminder that the prize belongs to the voters, not to the old guard watching from the sidelines.

He did, though, reserve a final note of admiration for Kylian Mbappe, a player who hovers constantly around both the Ballon d’Or debate and Madrid’s long-term plans.

“He is always at a very high level. He has got us used to being one of the best players in the world and to scoring goals.”

It was simple, almost understated praise, but telling. While Barcelona are tearing through La Liga and Madrid search for their rhythm, the game’s next great superstar continues to perform at a level that keeps every big club, Madrid above all, watching closely.

Figo has seen eras turn, dynasties rise and fall, titles won in April and lost in March. If he is sounding the alarm now, Madrid will know this is not noise. It is a reminder: either they respond quickly, or Barcelona really might turn this season into a procession long before the trophy ever leaves its box.