Gonzalo Higuain has announced his retirement from football at the end of this MLS season. One of the standout strikers of his generation, Higuain has enjoyed an incredible career at the top level of football. He left Europe with 14 club trophies, including three La Liga titles and three Serie A titles, before moving to Inter Miami in 2020.
One of the Standout Strikers of a Generation – Gonzalo Higuain Retires From Football
Gonzalo Higuaín has announced his retirement from professional football at the end of 2022 season 🚨🇦🇷 #Higuain
El Pipita, crying during today’s press conference as he leaves football after incredible career with River, Real Madrid, Napoli, Juventus, Milan, Chelsea, Inter Miami. pic.twitter.com/tNUe6Av0l7
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 3, 2022
Sustained Success at the Elite Level
Son of professional footballer Jorge Higuain, Gonzalo started his career with River Plate in Argentina. His breakthrough season came in the 2006/07 campaign, scoring eight goals in 17 appearances. In January 2007, he was signed by Real Madrid. Over the following six and a half years, he went on to play 264 competitive matches for Los Blancos. In that period, he scored 107 goals en route to his three Spanish league titles.
In 2017 he announced he would be leaving the Bernabeu. Napoli were the club able to secure his signature. While he was not able to help the Naples club to win any trophies, the goals continued to flow. Most notably, in his third season in Italy, he won the Serie A top scorer award – netting an incredible 36 goals in 35 games.
It was this return that convinced Juventus to give him another chance at an elite club, completing the £81 million signing in the summer of 2017. He initially enjoyed two good seasons there, scoring 24 league goals in his debut season, and 16 the following campaign. However, he was again deemed surplus to requirements after this.
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He spent the first half of the 2018/19 season on loan at AC Milan, and the second half was a forgettable spell at Chelsea. However, the following season he was able to force his way back into the Juventus team. Although minutes were more limited, he contributed eight goals to another title-winning campaign.
In 2020, he joined David Beckham’s Inter Miami project. He has spent two years so far in the MLS, and he has shown the expected of him stateside. In total, he has 27 goals and 11 assists in his time there and is looking to go out on a high in the playoffs.
Gonzalo Higuaín has announced that he will be retiring at the end of the 2022 MLS season. He has played and scored for some of the biggest clubs in the world. Scored the goal which took Argentina to the semi finals of the 2014 World Cup. 🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/6rPbxwawIz
— Roy Nemer (@RoyNemer) October 3, 2022
Retirement Follows Controversial International Bow
Higuain retired from international football with Argentina in March 2019. He was often criticised on the international stage for his performances for the national team. Playing in an era with Lionel Messi, big things were expected of Argentina in all competitions. In their failure to win competitions during his career, Higuain was often used as a scapegoat by the Argentinian media. He missed chances in three major finals – the 2014 World Cup final and the 2015 and 2016 Copa America finals.
When he ended his international career, he cited a toxic atmosphere and hit out at his critics for enjoying criticising instead of encouraging. It seems on the international stage, he will be remembered more for his misses than for his goals.
The way he is remembered as a player overall remains to be seen in the period that follows his retirement. Whether it is acknowledged or not by public perception, he is, without doubt, one of the most iconic and successful strikers of his generation.
