Unappreciated Higuain seals move from Real to Napoli

MADRID: Another transfer saga came to an end on Saturday as Gonzalo Higuain finally completed his departure from Real Madrid to Napoli.

The deal, that reportedly could rise to as much as 40 million depending on how successful the Argentine is in Italy, represents great value for Madrid who paid only 12 million when they signed a promising but very raw talent back in 2006.

Higuain has since developed into one of Europe’s premier strikers and has an impressive record with his 121 goals during his time in Madrid.

However, as is common at Real, the 25-year-old was never truly loved at the Santiago Bernabeu by either the club’s demanding fans or its controlling president Florentino Perez.

The problem that Higuain posed for Perez was that he wasn’t one his ‘Galactico’ signings which he has splurged hundreds of millions of euros on since returning to take charge in 2009.

Perez did however sign Higuain’s com- petitor for the main striking role in the side, Karim Benzema, and has therefore tended to champion the Frenchman at Higuain’s expense despite the latter producing a better goals per game ratio since the two became teammates four years ago.

The one area in which there has been a significant disparity in Higuain and Benzema’s performance though is in the Champions League and it is his record in European competition that has held him back.

Higuain has scored just eight goals in 48 Champions League appearances, compared to Benzema’s 19 in 34 Champions League encounters for Real and 31 in 54 appearances overall in the competition.

The Argentine was blamed after missing two clear-cut chances in Real’s shock last-16 elimination to Lyon back in 2010 and he again felt the ire of the Bernabeu crowd when he was booed off in last season’s Champions League semi-final against Borussia Dortmund.