Gonzalo Higuain: Argentina striker joins Juventus from Napoli for £75.3m

By The Rainbow
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Juventus have signed Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli for £75.3m.

The 28-year-old has signed a five-year deal at Juventus after the club met his buy-out clause of 90m euros, which will be paid in two instalments.

The fee for the France-born forward is the third most expensive in history and the biggest domestic deal of all time.

Higuain, who joined Napoli from Real Madrid in 2013 for £34.5m, was linked with a move to the Premier League with Arsenal earlier this month.

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The £75.3m fee for Higuain, who began his career with River Plate in Argentina, is dwarfed only by those paid by Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo (£80m) and Gareth Bale (£85m).

The previous highest domestic transfer was the £50m deal that took Spain striker Fernando Torres from Liverpool to Chelsea in January 2011.

Higuain won the Capocannoniere – Serie A’s golden boot – last season after scoring a league record-equalling 36 goals as Napoli finished runners-up to his new club.

It was only the second time this century a player had scored more than 30 goals in a Serie A season, following Luca Toni’s tally of 31 for Fiorentina in 2005-06.

The transfer could have a bearing on Manchester United’s move for Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba, with the 23-year-old reportedly the subject of a £100m bid from the Premier League club.

(BBC Sport)