The five flops Barcelona signed after Luis Figo exited in 2000

Barcelona sold Luis Figo to rivals Real Madrid for 60 million euros in 2000. Arguably the most infamous transfer in history, the move is the subject of a brand new documentary on Netflix.

The purchases made following this sale were also heavily criticized as Barca burned a succession of managers and went four seasons without winning any silverware. Parallels can certainly be drawn with how the club squandered Neymar's fee in 2017.

We took a closer look at the five players Barcelona signed for a fee in the summer of Figo's transfer to the Bernabeu.

Marc Overmars

The Dutchman was signed from Arsenal in the summer of 2000 for €40m; a significant portion of the fees collected for Figo.

In his three seasons with the Gunners, Overmars never scored less than 12 goals in a season, with a personal best 16 helping Arsene Wenger to a league and cup double in 1998.

Arriving in Catalonia at 27, the striker should have been in his prime, but his standards quickly began to drop once he donned his new colours.

In four seasons with Barca, he scored just 19 goals as persistent knee injuries prevented him from developing his form and fitness. A second-place finish in Frank Rijkaard's first season at the helm marked a change in fortune, but it also marked the end of Overmars' time with the club, as he retired in July 2004. p> Emmanuel Small

Another gunner arrived at Camp Nou that summer in the form of Emmanuel Petit, who made the switch on a joint transfer alongside Overmars.

Two years earlier, the midfielder had played a major role in guiding France to their first World Cup victory, scoring the third goal against Brazil in the final, when he had just helped the Blues to win Euro 2000 as well. So hopes were high in his new home.

Arrived at the age of 29, Barça were able to bring him in for a fraction of the price advertised on Overmars, although he was still a considerable sum of 14 million euros for the time.

Wenger had turned Petit into a defensive midfielder at Highbury, proving a colossus alongside Patrick Viera, but he was pushed further back into the center of defense by Barca boss Lorenzo Serra Ferrer.

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Petit has since accused Ferrer of not knowing what position he was playing at the time of his signing, SFRSport said in 2016.

"Richard [Dutruel] was translating and he was translating normally when he suddenly stopped and after five minutes he turned to me and I saw 'Mayday, Mayday' flashing in his eyes.

"He said to me: 'The coach wants to know what position you play'. We had just finished the Euros. I looked at the coach, I looked at Richard and I said: ' Is he kidding?" Richard replied, "He's not kidding."

"So I said, 'I want you to ask him where he's been for the past two years. Was he kidnapped? Was he in the jungle where there was no TV? The guy pissed me off."

A series of injuries prevented him from settling down and leaving for Chelsea after just one season, where he was at least able to play in midfield.

READ: Emmanuel Petit on Arsenal, Wenger and his regret at not joining Man Utd

Alphonse

After rising through the ranks of Real Madrid's youth system, Alfonso did a reverse Figo when he joined Barcelona in 2000, but with a five-year stint with Real Betis in between.

After Figo's sale, €16.5m was paid to the striker, who set a Betis record by scoring 25 La Liga goals in 1996-97, only to follow that up with two more disappointing seasons before joining Barça.< /p>

He continued that form at his new club, scoring two goals in his first year at Camp Nou before being loaned to Marseille. In 2002, Alfonso returned to Betis.

Gerard

After graduating from Barcelona's famed La Masia academy, Gerard signed for...