Gonzalo Higuain Discusses Juventus Stay, Cristiano Ronaldo's Evolution, More
Gonzalo Higuain has opened up about his decision to stay at Juventus this summer, and he believes Cristiano Ronaldo has become a much more complete player than the one he played with at Real Madrid.
The Argentina international spoke to Sky Sport Italia (h/t Football Italia) and explained he never considered leaving Turin after his loan deal with Chelsea expired: "As soon as I returned to Turin, I had clear ideas. I wanted to stay at Juventus. Honestly, no one told me anything when I returned. I came back to work here, to try to show my worth. They're a great team, with a big fanbase. They're a great club, so I'm happy to be here."
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He's glad to be reunited with Ronaldo: "I hadn't played with Cristiano for many years, and when I stopped playing with him, he was younger. Now I've found a more complete player who has grown in terms of ambition, trying to win everything and set new records. Honestly, I'm very happy to have found him again."
The centre-forward also revealed the decision to change his shirt number from nine to 21 was his: "It was my choice. I decided to change and switch to 21, which is the day my daughter was born [May 21, 2018]. It's also a little way to take her with me in every game. It was a decision made from the heart, and it's bringing me luck. That's the truth about why I chose 21."
The 31-year-old spent the 2018-19 season on loan at AC Milan and Chelsea, but the Blues opted not to use their option to make the move permanent at the end of the campaign.
Higuain was widely expected to leave Turin again, and there were strong links with AS Roma. He stayed with the Bianconeri, however, and has started both of their Serie A matches so far. He also made the UEFA Champions League squad list ahead of Mario Mandzukic.
He bagged his first goal of the season against former club Napoli:
Higuain has been reunited with Maurizio Sarri again in Turin, with whom he played the best football of his career under the coach at Napoli. While the two couldn't rekindle their magic at Chelsea during his four months, Sarri was always likely to try again back in Italy.
He scored a career-high 36 Serie A goals in his last season under Sarri in Serie A, and while he's unlikely to match that tally again, he's off to a fine start.
The combination with Ronaldo has worked well so far, with two wins from two matches. The two worked together for four seasons at Real until Higuain left for Napoli in 2013.
The left-winger was one of the main reasons he left the team last year, with Juventus needing to clear space on the wage bill to sign the Real star. They also sent Mattia Caldara to AC Milan and brought back Leonardo Bonucci.
