Zidane has been a star with Bordeaux, single-handedly taking them to the UEFA cup final in 1996. Then he went to Juventus that summer and the rest is history. Age 25 As for Figo, cruyff brought him to Barcelona in 1995. Age 23 Edit: Just remembered that Figo was part of Portugal's 'Golden Generation' which won a lot of youth titles U17, U20's etc along with Rui Costa, Gomes and the Pinto's. So in essence neither really a late bloomer, just that they needed a bigger stage to showcase their talents.