Luis Figo
Luis Figo launches FIFA Presidential Campaign Manifesto at Wembley StadiumReuters

Portuguese legend Luis Figo will visit India next week, and is planning to open a football academy here, the Times of India reported. The 43-year-old's visit is scheduled for three days.

The Real Madrid veteran, who was a part of the famed Galacticos set up in the early 2000s, will reportedly arrive in Mumbai before going to Chennai to find out whether it is viable to launch a football academy of his own in the country. 

"Luis Figo will be in India for a sporting venture," a source close to the development told the newspaper. "He will be here for his own project and not just any brand ambassador role."

The sensational winger had collaborated with a Chinese sports events company to launch 14 football training centres across China last year, and it is believed he wants to expand his base in Asia with a similar venture in India.

Honoured as the Portuguese footballer of the year on five straight occasions in the late 1990s, Figo will make his second visit to India next week. He had come in the country back in 2012, for a friendly match against an India XI side at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, Goa.