Real Madrid: The five players who should never have been sold in the last 10 years
By Parshva Shah
Gonzalo Higuaín (2007-2013)
Signed as 19-year-old prodigy from River Plate in December 2006, Gonzalo Higuaín spent six and a half seasons with Los Blancos.
After spending a season and a half as a substitute, Higuaín cemented a spot in the starting XI after Ruud van Nistelrooy suffered an injury. He scored 24 goals in all competitions, of which 22 came in the league.
This was his breakout season in Europe as he transformed into the focal point of the attack at just 21. There was no looking back for him after that season.
The Argentine carved out a niche for himself in a squad that had the likes of club legends Raúl and van Nistelrooy as forwards. In fact, in Cristiano Ronaldo’s debut season, Higuaín outscored him in the league, with the former netting 26 goals and the latter hitting 27.
Surprisingly, that was the only season in Cristiano’s Real Madrid career where he didn’t finish the season as Real’s top-scorer in the league.
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Karim Benzema’s arrival didn’t deter his situation either, as he was Mourinho’s preferred striker over the Frenchman.
Higuaín scored 107 La Liga goals for Real Madrid, making up for a slow start at the club. Although he wasn’t as influential for Real in the UEFA Champions League, he always delivered in the league and captured the league title thrice while in the capital .
Had he stayed with Real Madrid, he could have gone on to become one of the club’s highest goalscorers. He could have also been a part of the famous La Decima winning team of 2013-14.
Higuaín was an important part of the roster, and is often not given enough credit for his services to the club.
His goal scoring instincts and a desire to achieve with Real Madrid puts things in his favor, which is why he makes the cut to this list. He scored 121 goals in 264 appearances for the club.