Gonzalo Higuain has announced his retirement from football as the 2022/23 Major League Soccer season ends.
Football fans across the globe will no longer see 34-year-old Argentine star Gonzalo Higuain kick the ball again as a professional player.
Higuain has announced his retirement from football at the age of 34 after an illustrious football career that saw him play for top clubs in Europe across Spain, Italy, and England.
The former Real Madrid and Juventus star break the news of his retirement tearfully as the 2022/23 MLS season comes to an end.
While there may be deeper reasons behind Higuain’s decision to hang his boots finally, it is evident that the unwelcome reception he has been receiving on social media pages is a key factor in his decision to retire.
As every footballer, the former footballer had the “good and not so good” moments in his football career.
“The day has come to say goodbye to soccer, a profession that has given me so much, and I feel privileged to have experienced it with its good and not so good moments,” Higuain said.
Higuain’s quote, as captured by popular football pundit Fabrizio Romano highlighted how he had to battle online critics and trolls.
The now ex-footballer said: “There is a kind of toxic feeling around a football on social media. You can’t imagine the damage that comments on social media do. I was really suffering. My family helped me. So people should think before attacking on social media – it’s really a serious topic.”
Gonzalo Higuain
Gonzalo Gerardo Higuain, known shortly as Gonzalo Higuain, is a 34-year-old former Argentine footballer.
Born on 10 December 1987, the 1.86m tall striker played his last club football for Major League Soccer side, Inter Miami before announcing his retirement from the game.
Higuain started his football career playing for Palermo youth team before moving to the River Plate youth team in 1997.
He made his first senior career appearance in club football in 2005 when he joined the River Plate senior team. In his two years spell with the club, he made 35 appearances, scoring 13 goals.
Gonzalo Higuain Real Madrid
After a brilliant spell with a top club in his home country, Higuain moved to Europe to join La Liga giants Real Madrid in 2007.
He played for the Los Blancos for six years, making 190 appearances and scoring 107 goals, before moving to Serie A in 2013.
Higuain’s first stop at Serie A was Napoli. Joining the team from Real Madrid, Gonzalo Higuain played for three years between 2013 and 2016 for the club, making 107 appearances and scoring 71 goals.
In 2016, he joined another Serie A giant, Juventus, making 105 appearances, and scoring 48 goals.
During his spell with Juventus, he was loaned to AC Milan and Chelsea, where he scored six and five goals for each club in 15 and 14 appearances, respectively.
Gonzalo Higuain Inter Miami
Higuain joined Major League Soccer side Inter Miami on 18 September 2020 after mutually terminating his contract with Juventus on 17 September 2020.
He made his debut for the club in a 3-0 defeat to Philadelphia Union, a match he missed a penalty and also started a fight.
He made 65 appearances for the club, scoring 27 goals.
National Team Stats
Gonzalo Higuain had featured once for the Argentina U-23 team in 2008 and he scored a brace. He made his first national team debut in 2009 and has been capped 75 times, scoring 31 goals.
Gonzalo Higuain Wife
Higuain is married to a renowned professional actress and model, Lara Wechsler, 33. He reportedly met Wechsler in 2015 while plying his trade in Spain. They got married two years later.
Higuain and Lara Wechsler welcomed their first child, Alma in 2017.
Awards and Honours
Throughout his football career, Gonzalo Higuain has won several trophies and awards as a player.
He has won La Liga, Copa Del Rey, and Supercopa de Espana while playing for Real Madrid.
At Napoli, Higuain won Coppa Italia, including Supercoppa Italiana.
At Juventus, he added Serie A to the list of trophies he has won, including another Coppa Italia.
Higuain has won Serie A top-scorer and Juventus most valuable player of the season, including several other awards.
