Higuain scored 38 goals in all competitions for Napoli last season, who finished runners-up to Juventus in Serie A.
Advertisement
Gonzalo Higuain has signed for Juventus in a £75.3m deal, making him the world’s third most expensive player.
The 28-year-old’s €90m (£75m) transfer was confirmed on Tuesday afternoon after the Serie A champions met the buyout clause in Higuain’s contract.
The news comes as somewhat of a surprise, as previous reports stated that Napoli would not sell Higuain to a rival team, but it appears that they were overwhelmed by the enormous transfer fee.
He is now second only to Gareth Bale, who joined Real Madrid for 100 million euros ($109.7 million) in the summer of 2013.
Higuain is Juventus’s fifth signing of this season after, Dani Alves from Barcelona, Miralem Pjanic from AS Roma, Medhi Benatia from Bayern Munich, Marko Pjaca from Dinamo Zagreb.
Higuain hasn’t been able to add the Serie A title to the three La Liga championships he won when at Real Madrid, but his move to the holders is likely to see that streak end sooner rather than later.
The Roma loyalist, who made his debut in 1992, said players who move clubs frequently are like “gypsies” and remarked: “There aren’t many athletes who follow their hearts”. They expect not to be betrayed. Players change teams all the time, to make a bit more money elsewhere. “The player has his responsibility but it’s the ones who do the business who are happy”.
“The sport has changed a lot”, said the Italy legend in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport.
“The way Gonzalo left was. pathetic, if you ask me”.
Italian media reported that the Argentine has signed a four-year contract with the Turin side for 7.5 million euros ($8.5 million) per season.
Advertisement
But continued disappointment at a lack of first-team starts put Higuain on the market, and he moved in 2013 in a deal worth €40 million.
