Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Team close to deal with Juventus forward Higuain
Veteran has played on Argentine national team since 2008
Inter Miami CF may be close to locking in the world-renowned goalscorer they’ve been searching for since the club’s inception.
Multiple media outlets have reported that Inter Miami is nearing a deal for Juventus forward Gonzalo Higuain.
TyC Sports journalist Cesar Luis Merlo reported Tuesday that there’s been a “total agreement” between Inter Miami and Higuain on a deal that would run until December 2022.
ESPN reported Wednesday that the two sides are “very close” to agreeing to personal terms but that a deal hasn’t been finalized yet. If Inter Miami sign the Argentine forward, Higuain would reunite with Inter Miami’s most recent signing in former Juventus teammate Blaise Matuidi.
When asked Tuesday about reports linking Higuain to the club, Inter Miami coach Diego Alonso said he wouldn’t talk about players who weren’t on his team.
Juventus, which was significantly impacted financially by the COVID-19 pandemic, has been looking to reduce their payroll in recent months — which helped orchestrate Matuidi signing with Inter Miami on Aug. 13 after mutually agreeing to terminate his contract with the Italian soccer club.
Andrea Pirl, Juventus’ new manager, announced last week that the club and Higuain were looking to go their separate ways.
Inter Miami isn’t the only team in Major League Soccer that pursued Higuain, who reportedly had offers from other teams in Italy and England.
The Athletic reported D.C. United had a discovery claim on Higuain, which is an MLS mechanism that allows a club to have the “priority right” to sign a nonMLS player. Inter Miami will have to compensate D.C. United so they can sign Higuain, while also negotiating with Juventus and the Argentine forward’s representation.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday evening that Inter Miami gave D.C. United $50,000 in general allocation money [GAM] for Higuain’s MLS discovery rights, which is the standard compensation in exchange for the right to sign the player in a “discovery conflict resolution” according to the league’s website.
Higuain has been one of the elite goal-scorers in the world since becoming a professional in 2005, which Inter Miami could certainly use as they only recorded more than one goal in a game once in their first seven matches.
After three seasons with Argentine club River Plate, Higuain joined Real Madrid in 2007 and scored 107 goals across 190 La Liga appearances. He had 71 goals in 104 Serie A appearances from 2013-16 with Napoli.