Juve strike first
Italian champions buy Higuain in anticipation of Pogba departure
LONDON: Gonzalo Higuain has joined Juventus for £79mil (RM421mil), according to reports in Italy.
The Argentina hitman equalled an 87-year-record when he netted 36 goals for Napoli in Serie A last season.
And Sky Italia are reporting that Higuain has signed a four-year deal the Neapolitans’ great rivals after a secret medical in Madrid in a sensational move.
The deal paves the way for Paul Pogba to join Manchester United for a world-record sum of £105mil (RM559mil) as Juventus do not currently have the finances to pay such an astronomical fee.
The Frenchman is in talks over a return to Old Trafford – and Higuain’s transfer all but confirms a deal is in the offing.
Juventus’ business is similar to when Tottenham Hotspur splurged out before Gareth Bale’s £86mil (RM458mil) transfer to Real Madrid had been completed in 2013.
The Argentina striker’s transfer to the Old Lady will not go down well at all with the Napoli fans.
Higuain was mobbed by dozens of supporters when he arrived at an airport in Rome ahead of a switch from Real Madrid.
His goals led to him becoming the biggest icon in the city since Diego Maradona.
Napoli had been desperate to keep Higuain but the striker refused to sign a new deal, believing his buy-out clause was too high.
This move will be seen as a huge betrayal and the backlash could be fiercer than when Luis Figo moved from Barcelona to Real Madrid in 2000.
Los Blancos broke the world transfer record to sign the Portuguese superstar – and his first return was halted due to fan unrest, while a later visit to the Nou Camp saw him pelted with a pig’s head.
Higuain completed a secret medical in Madrid before signing a four-year contract worth £120,000-a-week (RM639,000).
He will become Juventus’ record signing – beating the £42mil (RM224mil) they paid Parma for Gianluigi Buffon in 2001. The move is another blow to Arsene Wenger. Higuain had been a summer target for the Gunners, but becomes the second high-profile target – after Jamie Vardy – to snub a move to the Emirates.
Arsenal appear, however, to be on the verge of completing a deal to sign Riyad Mahrez.