Gonzalo Higuain Admits Short Chelsea Spell Didn't Give Him Chance to Showcase His Best Work

19 January 2020 11:38

​Gonzalo Higuain has had a resurgent season for the Old Lady of Italian football, but has now said that his time in England at ​Chelsea has been misunderstood.

Speaking six months after leaving west London, Higuain made it clear that he feels that his play for the Blues was a decent showing for a player who joined mid-season.

Gonzalo Higuain

Speaking to the Telegraph, he said: “Yes, I understand that they expected more from me and I appreciate that because that means that they relied on me. I also know that people have good expectations from the best players. I always welcome criticism, provided that it is constructive and not destructive. I just want to say that I had the chance to play in one of the best leagues in the world.”

The forward managed to score five times in 13 appearances, but the Argentinian made the case that the team's results were ultimately the defining factor. 

“I could have done better. But I think what I did is not bad and then we managed to win the Europa League and reached the Champions League, so they were good results. People expected more from me, but I think the goals were fine in that short time.”

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"If you are a good player then people expect everything from you,” he says. “But sometimes people don’t take into account that you are coming from a different league, from the Italian one that is completely different, to the Premier League. People don’t consider the fact that I played there for only a few months.

At the start of the 2019/20 season, management at ​Juventus had not anticipated that Higuain would play such a prominent role this season, deeming the Argentinian as expendable in pre-season. Juventus needed to recoup transfer funds after splashing out on Dutch defender Mattias De Ligt this summer and the massive outlay for ​Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018. 

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However, no club came in for Higuain, and partnership with Paulo Dybala – another player available to rivals before the start of the season – has been one of the best across Europe. 

Higuain attributes this season's success down to his relationship with Juventus boss Maurizio Sarri.

“I think that Mr Sarri and I take out the best of each other. He saw me, he was with me, he witnessed the best season I have had [with Napoli in 2015-16] and that’s why he knows me so well and maybe that’s why he said it. The problem is Mr Sarri has never said that to me! I know he has told others, but not me!”

Source: 90min