Loyalty: All About Victory

The line between traitor and pawn is sometimes blurry. Spain is the setting for one of the most high profile soccer defections where a blurred line clouded a situation. At the turn of the millennium, Portugal’s Luis Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo was about to make waves, huge waves. As one of the top 3 players in the world by virtue of having scored 30 goals in 172 games, Figo was transferred from FC Barcelona to Real Madrid for a then record $56 million.

To measure the impact of such a change of allegiance, this was the equivalent of the league superstar being traded from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees; the Montreal Canadiens to the Toronto Maple Leafs; the Dallas Cowboys to the Washington Redskins or the Los Angeles Lakers to the Boston Celtics.

Even though FC Barcelona had refused to re-negotiate Figo's contract, the Barcelona faithful had no choice but to view Figo's move as treasonous, tantamount to a slap in the face.

What many failed to realize was that Figo was a pawn in a greater Game. Madrid sought to steal Barcelona's shiniest star: Figo.

Expect to face treasonous students in school, dubious colleagues in business and questionable acquaintances in your personal life. The way to come out on top and remain unscathed is to see the forest through the trees.