Gonzalo Higuain of Inter Miami, a Major League Soccer club in the United States has lamented how footballers are treated when they are no longer playing active football.
The 34-year-old Argentine striker who has played for some of the best clubs in Europe including Real Madrid, Napoli, AC Milan, Juventus, and Chelsea, described footballers as disposable bottles.
“A footballer exists solely to play football but when you cannot, then no one calls you anymore”, the Argentine footballer told Diario AS.
“I have been very clear about this for years. You are a disposable bottle.
“When you are thought to be empty, you are trampled on and then you are thrown away.”
Footballers are human beings too, Gonzalo Higuain insists
Gonzalo Higuain started his professional football career at an Argentine club River Plate on July 1, 2014. He moved to Europe on January 1, 2007, after Real Madrid paid River Plate €12 million for the signature of the striker.
He played at Real Madrid between 2007 and 2017 before he moved to Italy to play for Napoli on July 27, 2013, for a transfer fee worth €39 million.
Higuain spent three years at Napoli before he joined Juventus for 90 million on July 26, 2016. After making the big-money move, he struggled to establish himself at the club as long as expected.
Hence, Gonzalo Higuain had to go on loan to AC Milan and Chelsea between 2018 and 2019. When things did not work as expected, Higuain had to move to Inter Miami on a free transfer on September 18, 2020.
Since then, Higuain has played 41 games for the American soccer club in which he scored 13 goals and provided 9 assists.
After over 18 years in professional soccer, Gonzalo Higuain who has less than 10 months on his contract with Inter Miami stressed that he would have no business with soccer when he retires.
So far in his career, the out-of-favor Argentine footballer who played in the 2014 FIFA World Cup final has won 14 major titles which include three Serie A and three La Liga titles.
“I will be far away from football,” Higuain said when asked what he would do after his career. “Far away. I’m going to enjoy football while I still play, but then I will not have an interest.
“The sport has contaminated me. I feel like it’s not the world I want to be in.
“People have no idea what life is like for a footballer.
“It is easy to forget that we all have a father, we have a mother, just like anyone else. And we have the same miseries and struggles that everyone has.”
What are Higuain’s contract details and 2022 stats?
Based on the contract he signed with Inter Miami in 2020, Gonzalo Higuain reportedly earns about 2 million euros per season. This means that he earns around €38,462-per-week in America.
Higuain who is married to Lara Wechsler, an Argentine interior decorator, has a net worth of 60 million euros.
So far this season, the 34-year-old Argentine footballer has scored just a goal in two Major League Soccer games for Inter Milan. His contract with the club will expire on December 31, 2022.
🗣️ "In the box he's unbelievable."
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) March 4, 2022
All 24 Gonzalo Higuaín goals in this competition ⚽️@G_Higuain | #UCL pic.twitter.com/oYwrF9GdSw