New Chelsea manager José Mourinho’s quest to reunite with Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuaín has hit a bit of a snag. The Premier League club has put in an offer, but Madrid won’t let him leave for less than €40 million.
Higuaín said early last month that he would leave the club after falling out of favor and even being booed by his own fans during the second leg of Madrid’s 4-3 aggregate loss to Borussia Dortmund in the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League.
Madrid is in a position of power on any potential deal, as Higuaín clearly wants to leave — and plenty of clubs would be happy to have him. The club likely sees this as an opportunity to recoup some of the cash it spent to sign Isco from Málaga (about €30 million) and Asier Illarramendi from Real Sociedad (about €38 million).
Of course, new Real manager Carlo Ancelotti could want to keep him. A high price tag ensures that it looks like the boss values Higuaín, but it also allows the club to sell if it gets the right offer. Every player has a price, especially after a club has spent so much in a transfer window already.
For its part, Chelsea likely has some money left in its seemingly bottomless transfer fund, having bought just André Schürrle from Bayer Leverkusen, in terms of big-name signings. But with Schürrle, Fernando Torres, Demba Ba and a newly inspired Romelu Lukaku all occupying the same position, it could get crowded for Higuaín at Chelsea as well.
[ Further reading: As far as transfer rumors go, Gonzalo Higuaín to Arsenal actually makes some sense ]
At just 25 years old, the Argentine should have plenty of top-flight goals left in him. He scored 107 in 187 appearances for Real Madrid since 2007, after transferring from River Plate in his home country. He also has 20 goals in 32 matches for the Argentine national team.
