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Gonzalo Higuain broke down in tears after playing the final match to end his football career.
The 34-year-old’s final game ended in a disappointing 3-0 defeat for Inter Miami against New York City FC in the first round of the MLS play-offs on Monday night, October 17.
Earlier this month, Higuain announced that he would retire when Inter Miami’s season came to an end and at the final whistle, he broke down in tears as the curtain came down on a great career.
He scored 121 goals in 264 matches for Real Madrid after they bought him from River Plate in his homeland, helping the Bernabeu club to three Spanish titles.
Higuain later joined Napoli and continued to score at a prolific rate over three seasons there before joining Juventus in 2016.
While in Turin, he helped his team win three Serie A championships and reach the Champions League final in 2017.
He briefly spent time on loan at Chelsea, winning the Europa League in 2019, before signing for Inter Miami in September 2020. He scored 29 goals in 70 matches for the Florida club.
Higuain also scored 31 times 75 outings for his country Argentina, representing them at three World Cups. He helped his country reach the final in 2014 when they lost 1-0 to Germany.
After last night’s game, Higuain said afterwards: ‘I felt like what I had loved the most as a job had ended. It was half my life, my career, 17-and-a-half years.
‘Images from my entire career came to my mind. What I lived, what I worked, what I experienced and I’m leaving very happy because I gave it all until today. That’s the most important thing.’
He added: ‘The dream is over and another life begins.’
Higuain also suggested in interviews that he may look into becoming a mental health coach for young footballers.
‘I don’t think there’s enough emphasis on the importance of mental health, especially in football, and I’d love to help young people,’ he said.
Inter Miami coach Phil Neville said after the match: ‘He is leaving in exactly the way he should be leaving, with the goals that he has scored, the happiness in which he has played, the way he has embraced his team-mates and carried his team-mates.
‘He has done exactly what we expected and I think he can be massively proud. It is a massive adaptation period for any footballer to come to the MLS, especially when you’ve played in Europe and the Champions League.
‘To come here is a learning curve for people when you think it’s going to be easy and it’s not. It is the hardest league in the world to adapt to because of everything that goes with it.
‘It took time for him to adapt but people forget last season he was our top goalscorer, our top assist maker, but he didn’t have the players around him he’s had this season, he didn’t have the team around him.
‘You’ve got to have a team and this season we have got a team and he has prospered and helped that team.
‘I’m proud to have managed him, as a club we’re proud to have had him and he leaves in a good moment. He helped us get to the play-offs and he can now enjoy his retirement.
‘We wish him all the best and he will always be welcome.’
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