Gonzalo Higuaín

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Higuaín started his career with Argentine club River Plate, before a transfer to Real Madrid in January 2007. After lacklustre performances in his first two seasons, Higuaín went on to score 97 goals in his next 146 games for Madrid, and was pivotal in the club's historic 100 points tally in the 2011–12 La Liga title win. His time in Spain saw him win three La Liga titles in total. In 2013, Higuaín joined Italian side Napoli for €40 million. In his first season, he helped his club win the Coppa Italia, which was only their second domestic honour since 1990. In the 2015–16 season, he was vital in Napoli's title race with Juventus, scoring 36 goals to win the Capocannoniere title and breaking the record for most goals in a Serie A season. Italian champions Juventus signed Higuaín for €90 million in 2016, becoming one of the most expensive transfers of all time and the highest ever transfer for an Italian club. He won domestic doubles in his first two seasons with Juventus, also reaching the 2017 Champions League final. At Juventus, Higuaín scored his 100th goal in Serie A, making him only the second player to score over 100 goals in two of the top European leagues in the past 20 seasons. He went on to have loan spells at AC Milan and Chelsea, winning the UEFA Europa League with the latter. He signed for American side Inter Miami in 2020 before retiring in 2022.

In Their Own Story

Born in France to Argentine parents, Higuaín obtained Argentine citizenship in 2007, having previously only been a French national. He made his full international debut for Argentina in 2009; he represented the country at three FIFA World Cups and three Copa América tournaments, helping them to second-place finishes at the 2014 World Cup, the 2015 Copa América, and the Copa América Centenario in 2016. After no longer being called-up following Argentina's round-of-16 exit at the 2018 World Cup, he announced his retirement from international football in March 2019. In total, he earned 75 caps for his nation, scoring 31 goals. Higuaín was born on 10 December 1987 in Brest, France, the son of the Argentine footballer Jorge Higuaín, who was then playing for Stade Brestois 29. He is of Basque-French descent through his grandfather. He left France at the age of ten months and does not speak French, but retains French citizenship. He successfully applied for Argentine nationality in January 2007. Higuaín has two elder brothers, Nicolás, his agent during his career, and Federico, who also played as a professional footballer, and one younger brother, Lautaro.

Reader's Guide

Higuaín started playing in the youth teams and made his debut with River Plate in a 2–1 defeat against Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) on 29 May 2005. On 12 February 2006, he scored his first league goal in a 3–1 victory over Banfield. Higuaín ended the 2005–06 season with 5 goals in 12 appearances. Following his brace in the Superclásico derby against Boca Juniors on 8 October 2006, River Plate manager Daniel Passarella declared that Higuaín had an 'enormous future' and was 'destined for superstardom'. By the end of that season, he scored 10 goals in 17 league matches. In December 2006, Spanish club Real Madrid signed Higuaín for €12 million from River Plate. His debut came on 11 January 2007 against Real Betis in the second round of the Copa del Rey in Seville. His first league game came three days later, on 14 January 2007, against Real Zaragoza at home. Higuaín was involved in the creation of numerous scoring chances and in the assistance for the only goal, which earned Madrid the victory. His first goal with Real came on 24 February when the team faced Atlético Madrid in the Madrid derby, the equaliser (1–1) at the Vicente Calderón Stadium. During his first season at the Bernabéu, however, Higuaín raised some doubts over his performance due to his overall lack of goals. During the 2007–08 season, Higuaín played inconsistently, although he finished strongly at the end of the season: He first scored a last minute goal to earn his team a victory in a 2–1 comeback against Osasuna, which allowed Real Madrid to be mathematically crowned Liga champions for the second consecutive year. Four days later, he scored the third goal of a 4–1 thrashing of Barcelona in El Clásico. The goal was scored just 57 seconds after he came off the bench. In the 2008–09 season, Higuaín was offered the chance to be a starter due to a serious injury suffered by Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy. In August 2008, Higuaín scored the winner in Madrid's victory over Valencia in the Supercopa de España. Shortly afterwards, he scored all four goals in a 4–3 win against Málaga. Because of this, he started to gain international recognition and became one of the leading goalscorers of La Liga, alongside his Barcelona counterpart Samuel Eto'o. On 21 April 2009, Higuaín played very well in the match against Getafe and scored the decisive goal in the last minute, giving Real Madrid a 3–2 victory which enabled the team to keep close to Pep Guardiola's Barcelona in the league table. Throughout the season, Higuaín was regarded as one of the most promising talents in world football in the wake of spectacular games and last-minute goals. He ended the season with 22 league goals and 24 in all competitions, around as many as established football stars including Diego Forlán, David Villa and Thierry Henry. The 2009–10 season saw Higuaín become Real's top goalscorer with 27 league goals, 29 in total, being at the same time the La Liga's second-top goalscorer, behind only Lionel Messi and surpassing Swedish international Zlatan Ibrahimović, as well as his Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo. This season included him scoring his first two goals in the UEFA Champions League and his second hat-trick for the club. In June 2010, Real Madrid extended Higuaín's contract until 2016. On 23 October 2010, he scored Real Madrid's 5,200th league goal, coming against Racing de Santander in a 6–1 thrashing by Los Blancos. On 4 November of the same year, Higuaín scored the club's 700th goal in the Champions League. During the first weeks of December 2010, Higuaín was diagnosed with a herniated lumbar disc, and Real's medical staff suggested that he should have it operated. On 5 January 2011, Real Madrid announced he would finally undergo surgery at the Department of Neurological Surgery of Chicago's Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine under the command of Dr. Richard G. Fessler, M.D. The surgery took place on 11 January, and Higuaín was discharged from the hospital the next day following a successful operation. He was expected to spend at least four months away from the field in the recovery process: two months spent to recover from the surgery and another two to train with the team, although he was able to make an early comeback. On 23 April 2011, Higuaín scored a hat-trick against Valencia in a 6–3 away win at the Mestalla Stadium, giving him eight goals in eight matches against Valencia. Higuaín also assisted two other goals for Karim Benzema and Kaká in that same match. On 2 October, Higuaín scored his first hat-trick of the season against Espanyol in a 4–0 away win, following it 13 days later with another in a 4–1 win against Betis. Higuaín scored to put Madrid up 3–1 in a 4–1 win against local rivals Atlético Madrid in the Madrid derby on 26 November. On 31 March 2012, he scored his 100th Real Madrid goal in a match against Osasuna, also adding a second goal to make it Real's 100th goal for the 2011–12 La Liga season. In the league-winning season, he scored 22 goals, more than his teammate Karim Benzema, and proved to be a vital player for his team. On 29 August 2012, Higuaín scored the opener in an eventual 2–1 win against Barcelona in the second leg of the 2012 Supercopa de España, which secured Real Madrid its first title of the season. Higuaín scored first league goal in the season opener against Valencia CF, his favourite opponent; he netted the opening goal in the 10th minute in an eventual 1–1 home draw. He scored again in the next match, a 2–1 loss to Getafe CF at Coliseum Alfonso Pérez, which marked Real Madrid worst league start in 39 years. In Real's away match to Mallorca on 28 October 2012, Higuaín scored twice and provided two assists in a 5–0 victory. On 23 February 2013, he scored his 100th La Liga goal as he scored an 88th-minute winner to secure a 2–1 defeat of Deportivo de La Coruña. On 1 June 2013, following the end of the team's last match of the season, a 4–2 home win over Osasuna, Higuaín, who scored the opening goal, confirmed that he would be leaving Real Madrid at the end of the season, after six and a half years. Due to Higuaín's availability in the summer of 2013, several high-profile clubs, such as Arsenal and Napoli, were keen to sign him. Higuaín was at the centre of much transfer speculation, with many newspapers linking him to a move to Premier League side Arsenal, before Napoli's president Aurelio De Laurentiis said that Higuaín, along with Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina, had passed their medicals and that the Argentine had signed a five-year deal with the Italian club, with Higuaín joining for €40 million. On 27 July, Napoli confirmed the signing of Higuaín, with the Argentine being assigned the number 9 shirt.

Did You Know?

• Higuaín was born in Brest, France, on 10 December 1987, while his father Jorge was playing for Stade Brestois 29.
• He scored 36 goals in the 2015–16 Serie A season, breaking the record for most goals in a single Serie A season.
• Higuaín scored Real Madrid's 5,200th league goal on 23 October 2010 against Racing de Santander.
• He is only the second player to score over 100 goals in two of the top European leagues in the past 20 seasons.
• Higuaín scored his 100th La Liga goal on 23 February 2013 with an 88th-minute winner against Deportivo de La Coruña.