"I wish I had, at his age, the talent he displays. If I had had so much talent I would not have had to work as much as I did," Figo told sports daily A Bola.

"He can become, within three or four years, if not earlier, one of the best if not the best, player in the world," the Real Madrid star added.

"He will have to work hard for this, because talent alone, does not cause miracles. Throughout my life I have encontered many players with more talent than me but they did not go as far as I did."

Figo announced in August that he would stop playing for Portugal after a 12-year career in which he was the country's standout player having scored 31 goals in 110 caps, a national record for appearances which he shares with Fernando Couto.

Since he announced his retirement from international football, Ronaldo, 19, has increasing been dubbed by the Portuguese press as Figo's successor in the national squad.

Figo added he intends to meet with Real Madrid chiefs next month to determine if the club plans to extend his current contract, which is set to expire in 2006.

The 32-year-old player said his first option would be to stay on at Real Madrid for one more year but if the club says they will not extend their contract he would look into leaving before the end of the current season.

"Obviously the opportunities and the type of offers which I would receive at the end of this season would be different from those I might be offered in a year and a half," he told the newspaper.

Figo joined Real Madrid from Barcelona in 2000 for what was then a world record transfer fee of 56 million euros (72 million dollars).

He became the FIFA world player of the year the following year. FIFA has nominated the player, along with his Portugal squad teammates Ronaldo and Deco, for the tite again this year, which will be decided on December 20 in Zurich.