Gonzalo Higuain looked back at his time with Napoli and the controversy caused by his €90m move to Juventus.
The Argentinian forward spent three years in the Campania capital from 2013 to 2016, where he scored 91 goals in 146 appearances across all competitions. Higuain became a hero at Napoli and his high-profile move to Juventus in the summer of 2016 caused an outcry in the city, a move that he’s never been forgiven for.
Commenting on the situation via Corriere dello Sport, Higuain reflected on his three-year spell with Napoli and the bad ending to the experience.
“These are moments impossible to forget. It’s one of the best feelings you can have as a player, to hear a stadium full of people shouting your name after a goal, I get goosebumps thinking about it today.
“But the opposite can also happen. Not everything is beautiful in football. One day 60,000 people are shouting your name. Fifteen days later, they might be insulting you.”
Despite the drama, Higuain revealed that he holds no regret from his decision.
“From bad moments you learn to mature, to grow and I personally regret nothing. I lost, many finals, Copa America and World Cup. And I had the bad luck to be the one who missed an important chance.
“Those were tough times, but then a year later I was sold for €90m to Juve and I became the most expensive Argentinean ever. And that’s when you realise that nothing can distract you from your goal.”
Higuain spent four years attached to Juventus, although one of those saw him bounce to Milan and Chelsea on loan. During that time, he netted 66 goals in 149 games and won multiple honours, including three Scudetti and two Coppa Italia titles.
A fantastic target man. I always thought a target man should tall and strong like Luca Toni and Ibrahimovic until I saw Higuain with his clear touches on the ball and clever movements to make him a beast on the field.
I’m tired of seeing articles about this guy, no one cares. He acts like Napoli fans should move on but this guy is doing interviews every month talking about his time at Napoli and how great he was. He had a single great season and that’s it. I have never heard anyone say he is one of the best Napoli players of all-time, not even a mention in the top 10. His stats aren’t good enough to be considered a Napoli great and the way he left the team and who he went to made sure he’d never be a fan favorite either. Very good player with a good career, but not one club that he ever played for would consider him one of there greats and that is telling.
@Naples 15, we understand your feelings were hurt but the guy is second all-time in goals per game for Napoli only after Cavani. Napoli fans appreciate nobody including Insigne who was treated like garbage. Also, if Higuain keeps getting asked the question what do you want him to say? He is speaking the truth. One day Napoli fans love you, the next they hate you. I guess they take their motivation from their scrooge owner who trashes everyone once they leave.
@naples15 these reports are coming from many interviews he’s done in a few successive days – after his retirement, but higuain has spoken the truth – many napoli fans are two faced