Gonzalo Higuain is one of the most prolific goalscorers of the generation and one of the fewest players to score over 100 league goals in two of the European major league. Due to his eye for goal and finishing with both feet, he is considered one of the deadliest strikers in the box. Higuain faced many ups and downs during his career including a huge number of Napoli fans who labeled him as a traitor due to his direct move to rivals Juventus. He is also often criticized by Argentine National team supporters due to his misses in three consecutive finals for Argentina. But that can't defy the goalscoring quality of Higuain as he has scored 282 goals in his club career and 31 goals in over seventy appearances for the Argentine National team.
Early Life And Career Of Gonzalo Higuain
Gonzalo Gerardo Higuain was born on 10th December 1987 to father Jorge Higuain and mother Nancy Zagaris. Though playing for the Argentine National team, Higuain was born in Brest, France. His father was also a former football player who played for Riverplate and Stade Brestois 29. He has four siblings, all male and one of his older brother Federico Higuain is also football player who plays for MLS side Columbus Crew SC.
Higuain started his playing career with Riverplate in the youth teams and made his senior debut with the team on May 29,2005, against Gimnasia y Esgrima in a 2-1 defeat. He ended his first season at River Plate with 5 goals in 10 appearances. Following the start of 2006/07 season, he was transferred to Real Madrid for $14.2 Million. He debuted for Real Madrid against Real Betis on 11 January 2007 in the second round of the Copa Del Rey. His first goal for Real Madrid came in Madrid Derby against city rivals Athletico Madrid. Higuain's first two season at Real Madrid was criticized by pundits due to his inconsistent performance and lack of goals However after a serious injury to Dutch striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy in the 2008-09 season, Higuain became the regular starter of the team. In the game against Malaga, he scored all four goals in the 4-1 win. He ended 2008/09 season with 22 league goals.
CAPTION: Gonzalo Higuaín SOURCE: In 2009/10 season Real Madrid finalized the transfer of Kaka, Ronaldo, and Benzema starting the new era of Galacticos. Despite the arrival of such big names in the Madrid team, Higuain finished the season as a top goal scorer for the Real Madrid with 27 goals. Higuain spent seven seasons in Real Madrid scoring 121 goals in all competitions.
Gonzalo Higuain's Professional Career in Italian Leauge
After Gonzalo Higuain was made available for transfer in 2013/14 by Real Madrid number of clubs were after him to secure his transfer. However, after much speculation, he was transferred to Italian side Napoli for the fee of $47 million and was given no.9 shirt. He played his first match for Napoli in Seria A against Bologna. He scored his first goal for Napoli against at Chievo in a 4-2 win. He scored his first hat-trick for the club in a 4-2 win over Lazio. He ended his first season at Napoli with 24 goals in all competitions. But that was just the starting of his Napoli career. In his next season he scored 29 goals in all competitions and after that, he scored 38 goals in all competitions. He made a total of 146 appearances for Napoli and scored 91 goals in the process. In his last season at Napoli(2015/16), Higuain scored 36 goals in the league equalling the record of the highest goal scorer in Serie A held by Gino Rosetti in 1929/30 season.
After Higuain's relationship with Napoli's chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis froze out he was again a transfer spectacle in the market. On 26 July 2016, he transferred to Juventus for a fee of $106 million making him the highest transfer by the Italian club. However, Napoli fans were not satisfied with transfer and called Higuain a traitor. On his debut game for Juventus, he scored the winning goal against Fiorentina in a 2-1 win. In his first season at Juventus, he scored 32 goals in 55 games and won his first Seria A title. Juventus also reached the finals of Champions league ultimately losing to title holders Real Madrid in a 4-1 defeat.
Gonzalo Higuain's International Career For Argentina
Higuain has played two World Cups for the Argentine National team. Initially, due to his birth rights, he was also called to play for France which he rejected. He made his full debut against Peru on 10th October 2009 in which he scored in a 2-1 win. In 2010 FIFA World Cup he scored a hattrick against South Korea in the second group match. He finished the World Cup with four goals becoming second top scorer of the competition.
He was also included in the squad during FIFA World Cup 2014. He scored the only goal in the match against Belgium in quarterfinals of the competition. In the finals though, Higuain was criticised for missing open one on one goal against Germany after a mistake from Toni Kroos. Argentina lost the game in extra time after a goal from Mario Gotze. He was also featured in Copa America 2015 and Copa America Centenario in 2016. In both competitions, Argentina reached the final but lost to Chile in the penalty shootout.
Gonzalo Higuain's Networth And Salary
When Higuain was transferred to Juventus from Napoli he became the most expensive center forward of that time. He receives an annual salary of $6 million per year from Juventus. His total net worth is estimated to be around $16 million.
He has houses in both Madrid and Turin. His house in Madrid is estimated to be around $0.6 million. According to some reports he pays $35,000 per month to live in Turin. His car collection includes Audi Q8 ($164,900)and Audi Q3($35,800). He also earns a fair amount of money through his endorsements with Nike worth $1.1 Million.
Gonzalo Higuain's Personal Life
Gonzalo Higuain is still not married and till date, he has been involved in many relationships which did not last long. His first revealed girlfriend was Soledad Fandino which did not last long. And then he dated Natalie Perez, Daniela Saurwald, Ailen Bechara and Lucia Fabiani. Currently, it is reported that he is in a relationship with Lara Weschler. It is reported that they have met during his time in Real Madrid. They have kept their relationship as private as possible. The couple was also seen together during Lionel Messi's wedding.
During his spare time, he likes to play tennis which he claims he is very good at it. His other hobbies include playing video games, listening to music and traveling. He has altogether three siblings in the family of which two are older than him and one is smaller than him.
by ab-ranjan, 08 May, 2018
