The Summer Zidane Arrived — And Rui Costa Almost Did Too
In the summer of 2001, Real Madrid came agonisingly close to signing Rui Costa alongside Zidane. Here's how AC Milan blew them out of the water.
Rui Costa takes his seat in the Bernabéu directors’ box tonight as Benfica president — but back in 2001, he nearly turned up there as a Real Madrid player instead.
The Galáctico That Got Away
Cast your mind back to the summer of 2001. Florentino Pérez had just wrapped up his first season in charge at Madrid — La Liga title in the bag, but the Champions League had slipped away in the semis against Bayern. He wanted more, and he wanted it in style.
Everyone knows that summer for Zidane. But Madrid were also chasing Rui Costa, who’d been the heartbeat of Fiorentina since 1994. The Portuguese midfielder was 29, at the peak of his powers, and — crucially — well up for the move.
Close Enough to Touch
Madrid’s interest was genuine and Rui Costa wasn’t hiding how he felt about it either. The club set their ceiling at around 5,000 million pesetas (roughly €30 million) and opened talks. Meanwhile, Parma — flush with cash at the time — were also sniffing around.
Then things got properly dramatic:
- 29 June: Fiorentina’s website announces Rui Costa sold to Parma. Both the club and player flatly denied it — he never wore the Parma shirt.
- 30 June: Luis Figo’s wedding in Albufeira brings Madrid’s top brass to the Algarve, where they hold face-to-face talks with Rui Costa.
- The outcome: Madrid left convinced he’d do whatever it took to get to the Bernabéu. He told them he wanted to play in Spain. The Spanish press were running it as a done deal.
Milan Come Out of Nowhere
Then, in the early hours of 2–3 July, the whole thing went pear-shaped. AC Milan — then managed by Fatih Terim, soon to be Carlo Ancelotti’s project — absolutely blew Madrid out of the water.
Berlusconi’s lot offered Fiorentina double what Madrid were putting on the table: 10,000 million pesetas. And the personal terms? Also roughly doubled. Madrid, already stretching themselves for Zidane, immediately walked away. There was no point getting into a bidding war that would jeopardise the Zidane deal.
Rui Costa later told Radio MARCA: “The Fiorentina asked me to accept Milan’s offer and I did it.”
The final fee to Milan came in at around 8,000 million pesetas (€48 million).
What Happened Next
- He made his Serie A debut on 26 August — Milan drew 2–2 at Brescia, and Rui Costa broke his right arm on day one. Proper sod’s luck.
- He went on to make 192 appearances for the Rossoneri over five seasons.
- He won the Champions League in 2003, beating Juventus at Old Trafford.
- Madrid, for their part, landed Zidane and didn’t look back — though the failed pursuits of Mendieta, Vieira and Manuel Pablo that same summer were quietly forgotten.
Full Circle at the Bernabéu
Now 53, Rui Costa sits in that presidential box not as a Madrid player, but as the man running Benfica — and tonight’s visit comes with the Prestianni–Vinícius transfer saga hanging in the air like a bad smell. Funny how football works, innit.
Source: MARCA – Cuando Rui Costa estuvo a un paso del Madrid