Juventus’ £75 Million On Higuain Makes Manchester United’s Increasing Pogba Expense A Little More Reasonable

Manchester United fans can take some joy out of Juventus’ decision to splash out £75.3 million on Gonzalo Higuain and make him the third most expensive footballer of all time.

Not just because this splurge is the biggest indicator yet that Juventus are willing to sell Paul Pogba to them. But it’s also proof of just how bloated and exorbitant prices have exacerbated in the world of football.

After a sensational campaign for Napoli, which saw him score 36 league goals in 35 games, a full 17 more than his closest rival and now new team-mate Paulo Dybala, it’s little wonder than Massimo Allegri pinpointed Higuain as the perfect signing to boost Juve’s Champions League ambitions.

In order to acquire him, Juventus had to activate Higuain’s £75.3 million (€90 million) release clause, a humungous sum of money for a player that has repeatedly proven prone to going missing in big matches, most notably in the 2014 World Cup final, which Argentina ultimately lost to Germany after he’d trundled a guilt-edged one-on-one chance wide, and in the 2015 and 2016 Copa America finals where he failed to impress, too.

In fact, Higuain’s only domestic success came courtesy of his three La Liga trophies with Real Madrid, but for two of those campaigns he was a bit-part player. In the 2006/2007 season he only scored 2 goals in 13 starts, in 2007/2008 he amassed 8 in 25, while he righted these wrongs with 22 goals in 35 games when Madrid won the 2011/2012 title.

But ultimately Real Madrid sided with Karim Benzema over Higuain, who was shipped out to Napoli, where he has, over the last three seasons, thoroughly established himself as the best striker in Serie A, despite playing for a mediocre side that has failed to qualify for the Champions League in two out of the last three seasons.

Yes, Juventus will immeasurably be improved by the purchase of Higuain. But is he worth Ronaldo, Bale, Suarez or Neymar money? Nope. Plus, the fact that he’s 28 means that they’re likely to get little to no return on their investment and Higuain will also have to instantly deliver in order to prove his worth.

Which makes Manchester United’s potential £110 million outlay on Paul Pogba a little easier to rest with. Sure, it’s still an inordinate amount of money, especialy for a player that underwhelmed at Euro 2016.

But at the age of 23, and having been integral in helping Juventus win 4 Serie A titles, and 2 Coppa Italias that made them doubles, not only has Pogba proven how impressive he can be, but there’s still time for him to grow into both a footballing phenomenon and a potent marketing tool.

While Higuain has excelled in the shadows of the likes of Raul, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Robinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema, and Angel Di Maria, without ever being truly recognised as a galactico himself, the amount of shirt sales, merchandising, corporate deals, and whatnot off the back of Pogba’s signature will be an example of Florentino Perez’s repeated declaration that, “The most expensive players are often the cheapest.”

Or both signings might just be further proof that the game has well and truly gone to the dogs. It’s hard to tell.