imagine a world where Lionel Messi has two World Cups and three cop America titles well have been a possibility if I right here Way's come a long way it's a brilliant run it's off the the goal the cup that's right in three consecutive major International finals Gonzalo Higuain had the opportunity to win it all for his country but went completely ghost in the most crucial moments in situations where any other time in his career would have almost certainly been a goal but watching these clips Without Really knowing him you might think he was a very poor Striker but there was a time where Gonzalo Higuain was genuinely viewed as one of the most quality Strikers in the world in fact for most of his career he would be an absolutely lethal goal scorer there was even a time where he would outscore Cristiano Ronaldo in La Liga and even holds the record for most goals scored in a single seros season that being said uain probably has one of the most polarizing careers in recent memory being one of the most slandered and disliked Strikers in both the clubs he's played for and his International Squad in Argentina because I tell you right now it goes much deeper than just ghosting in the biggest stages of International Football in just a very brief amount of time going from being one of the most promising number nins in the world to becoming an absolute joke getting hated and MD for his decision-making weight gain and so much more that I honestly just started to feel a little bad for the guy and do you would have never guessed it seeing just how brilliant and On The Rise he started off his career there's a reason why in his early 20s Gonzalo hiuen was once seen as the hope of Real Madrid next in line to be one of their longtime Stars heck they had to find the youngster playing all the way in Argentina for River play to give some context this is when Real Madrid still had names like rul and rud vstoy that were still goal scoring machines for the club but they needed a younger investment that showed incredible promise and talent and the 20-year-old Hew was the perfect match he was a baller with allaround good height speed and strength was actually known for his ability to finish around the box and the young Higuain was even more promising than anyone in Madrid both fans and management could have ever anticipated because just in his second year with a club the 21-year-old would already be Real Madrid's top goal scorer for the season scoring 22 goals and providing 12 assists in 34 matches that's right the 21-year-old Striker provided 34 goal contributions in 34 matches for one of the most pressure-filled clubs to play for in the world and back then you might have looked at it and thought that certainly hiuen was the future of Real Madrid however the club would seemingly show otherwise as they would go on to sign names like Cristiano Ronaldo Karim Benzema and Ricardo Kaka players that would all significantly reduce the impact and playing time of the young Higuain even over 10 years later Higuain looks back at the rer chapter of his career and still ask the same question he once asked himself back then how many more goals do I have to score and you really have to show some sympathy with the guy because what he was doing back then is not that much different from what Jude Bellingham is doing in Real Madrid today I mean both guys were practically the same age and both leading the club in goal scored and now Bellingham is getting all the love and praise in the world as he should however back then for Gonzalo Higuain what he was doing at least to the Real Madrid board in management as impressive as it was simply wasn't enough even if the very next season he would go on to once again lead Real Madrid in La Lia goal scored with 27 goals and seven assists a total of 34 goal contributions in 32 matches even outscoring Cristiano Ronaldo for some reason still it wasn't enough for the 22-year-old to be fully accepted as a generational piece for the club despite even continuously outscoring Kareem Benzema to the Real Madrid management especially Papa Florentino Perez he still couldn't seem to find any favor it really makes no sense that a striker as consistent in promising as Higuain didn't get more love and if you were in his shoes you could imagine just how frustrating that might have been with a feeling like you were never really enough or at the very least didn't get any recognition for how you've been playing and maybe the only reasonable explanation for this is that Papa parz simply doesn't like Argentinian people I mean what else could it have been at least according to U's father that's exactly what it was I mean Fernando Rondo cambiaso salari Gago and even anel Di Maria all argentinians would leave the club abruptly but if we're being honest huin was really done Dirty by Real Madrid and as much as he wanted to shine with the club and be their go-to Striker it just wasn't going to happen so hiuen would do the only rational thing there was left to do and leave the club and thus he would find himself in Napoli a club that would actually accept him love him and let him arrive because Napoli iguin would play the best football in his entire career this was the club that really got the best out of his skills building around him and really letting hiuen show his true potential as their main star and we're talking about Napoli here sure they were Italian Champions just last 2022 23 season but back when hiuen was there the last time they had won the serot title was back in 1990 which was also the last time an Argentinian was the star of the club Diego metadon anduin would get off to an incredible start in just his first season in a new league he would have 36 goal contributions in 46 matches also helping his Club win the Koba Talia things were looking incredibly good for iguin he was in an incredible environment with the fans that loved him and a management that gave him the respect and recognition he wanted and deserved however things would start to tragically go downhill from this point on as in the 2014 World Cup Argentina would battle it out all the way to the final against an incredibly tough Germany and he Wayne had easily the best opportunity for Argentina to win it all this goal however was off sides but those nerves might have gotone to him because he would once again have an even better chance until he did this way come a long way it's a brilliant run it's off the and of course Germany would win the match 1 with Millions directly blaming Gonzalo higin for Argentina not lifting the World Cup in 2014 he had so much backlash that it absolutely destroyed his confidence especially when playing for his country genuinely making him consider retiring from International duty at only 26 years old his only saving grace was his time at Napoli at least there the fans didn't blame him they did the complete opposite and show him nothing but love and support and it showed as he would score even more goals for the club with a total of 40 goal contributions in 50 matches also helping Napoli lift the Italian super cup playing in wonderful form that was until he got back for international Duty with Argentina in the 2015 Copa America cuz here Argentina was once again in another major International final just one year after the World Cup second place finish but what heu would do in the 2015 Copa America final versus Chile just made things a whole lot worse because he had the chance to win it all in the last 10 seconds of the match yes I know lit's pass was terrible but hiuen still did have a decent chance to score but when the match would go on to penalties it would be Higuain to do this just kidding he did this of course Argentina supporters were absolutely furious with Higuain instead of blaming litti for the horrible pass and the guy would receive even more hate and slander only further destroying his confidence and growing The Narrative that hiuen was not a big game player but again in Napoli that still didn't matter they never once show their backs towards hiuen only further continuing to give him love and support helping heal any emotional or mental damage he suffered from those back-to-back major International final blunders because in the 20156 season Higuain would go on to have the best performance of his entire career going on to have an incred inredible 41 goal contributions in 42 matches equaling the record for the most goals ever scored in a single seras season with 36 Higuain was truly a star in Napoli with the fans and Management's love and support being at an alltime high it was a season where hiuen was so incredible it almost made you forget about those huge blonders he had for Argentina almost cuz in the 2016 special Copa America held to commemorate a 100 Years of the tournament Argentina would once again make it all the way to the final would hiuen even being the third highest scorer of the tournament and maybe it was finally time that they actually did it is what you would have thought because once again hiuen would have the chance to win it all but did this higu might be in here for Argentina Gonzalo higu just white this was the third consecutive major International final the hiuen had abs absolutely bottled and in my opinion was the worst and if it wasn't already by now it was official Argentina and Messi fans worldwide absolutely hated this man the slandering hate on hiuen was at an alltime high but that hate didn't top just quite yet because just a month later it would absolutely Moon as hiuen would leave the club that actually loved and supported him only to go and play for one of their biggest North Italian Rivals Juventus and to the Napoli fans that was an absolute stab in the back and a spit on the face the reason he did this was simply because he wanted to win some serious silverware sure the Copa Italia and Italian super cup are neat but it's definitely not as great as winning the Sia or Champions League title because remember when he left Real Madrid what did they do they immediately won a Champions League title and to huan himself was so close to winning three major International titles but just couldn't seem to win heu left Napoli to try to achieve some sort of football in glory that he failed to receive with his Real Madrid and Argentina shortcomings and perhaps deep down he always wanted to prove the doubters wrong but hiuen was now hated by the only supporters that genuinely had his back hell even former Napoli and fellow Argentinian Legend Diego meridon was Furious when he found out about hu's decision and publicly criticized him because if meridana didn't already hate him for messing up so badly with Argentina the man definitely hated him for betraying and disrespecting his former Club the hate on hiuen had finally reached the absolute Peak and it definitely left a mark as when he showed up in Trin he looked very noticeably different gaining a significant amount of weight and overall looking a lot less fit even losing hair in seemingly aging years just over the summer to personally believe that it's highly likely the amount of slander he received not only from Copa America but also from his transfer juuve just really took a toll on him emotionally and mentally it wouldn't surprise me if the man had genuinely felt depressed cuz in that situation who wouldn't and deep down I'm sure higu knows it he's even openly apologized to the fans because he knows that they were the ones that really loved him and gave him their undivided support but still was it really worth it sure he would finally win the serot title but at what cost really his pass would still continue to haunt him even in his first season with u they would make it all the way to the Champions League final the the fourth major Final in his career and still he would lose getting absolutely demolished 4 to1 by no other than his former Club Real Madrid and all this time Napoli fans continue to troll hiuen never letting him forget about his betrayal because even after winning three siia titles and two Copa balas with Juventus it was Napoli that would really have the last laugh as in the 2019 2020 Koba Italia final Higuain could do nothing but watch as his former club would beat his team game 4 to2 in penalty shootouts sure slowly after leaving n Hein was still scoring a decent amount of goals but it was only for a couple of Seasons as you could see physically especially with the weight gain the man was really letting himself go so much so that in Just 4 years he'd find himself in the MLS for inner Miami looking almost unrecognizable at the end of the day hiuen had a pretty decent career and trophy case but I personally don't think that any athlete should be receiving so much hate just for a simple mistake as for me the only one big mistake that he made was really in the 2016 Copa America final but for the way that he betrayed the club that really had his back through all those tough times with Argentina it does make you wonder was to sacrifice those Legacy in mental and emotional health really worth the trophies