Argentine star forward Gonzalo Higuain of Juventus in talks with Inter Miami
.JPG "Juventus’ Gonzalo Higuain, left, and Bologna’s Ibrahima Mbaye vie for the ball during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Juventus and Bologna at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy, Saturday, May 5, 2018 (Alessandro Di Marco/ANSA via AP)")
Inter Miami may be on the verge of signing the world-class forward fans have been awaiting all season. Reports out of Italy, Argentina, and The Athletic said that Argentine star Gonzalo Higuain has reached an agreement to leave Juventus and join his former teammate Blaise Matuidi at Inter Miami.
A league source confirmed the team has been in talks with Higuain but said no deal has been reached. Asked Tuesday about rumors of Higuain signing with Inter Miami, coach Diego Alonso said he does not find it appropriate to speak about players who are not on his team.
Higuain, 32, was one of the world’s top scorers between 2008 and 2018. He scored 107 goals over five years with Real Madrid, 71 goals in three seasons with Napoli and 48 in his first two seasons with Juventus, which paid Napoli a $99 million transfer fee to get him in 2016. He spent 2019 on loan with Chelsea before returning to Juventus.
He scored eight goals and had four assists in 32 games in 2019-20.
He also scored 31 goals in 75 games with the Argentine national team. He reportedly made around $15 million this season.
Juventus is looking to reduce payroll and go with a younger lineup, so a few older, higher-priced players such as Matuidi and Higuain were shopped around. Matuidi signed with Inter Miami a few weeks ago, arrived in South Florida last week and is expected to be cleared to play next week.
D.C. United reportedly explored the possibility of signing Higuain in May and reuniting him with his older brother, Federico, 35, who joined the team in March. Their mother is sick in Argentina, so reports said Gonzalo would like to be closer to her, and that he also has considered going back home to play in the Argentine league.
According to The Athletic, D.C. United owns Higuain’s “discovery rights”, a league mechanism that requires clubs to place desired non-MLS players on a “discovery list,” giving that team first dibs. If a club wants to sign a player on another team’s discovery list, it must pay that club $50,000 for the rights. So, in order to get Higuain, Inter Miami would have to reach agreement with Juventus and with D.C. United.
Atlanta United and San Jose Earthquakes have also been linked to Higuain in recent weeks.
Inter Miami (1-6-0) plays Atlanta United on the road Wednesday at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on FS1.