Gonzalo Higuain, also known as “El Pipita”, is a name well recognised by football fans all over the globe. The former Argentine national was widely regarded as one of the most dangerous strikers of his generation, scoring 366 goals and making 145 assists throughout his career for club and country.
Higuain made his professional debut for River Plate at just 17 years of age in 2005, quickly capturing the attention of everyone with his sharp and intelligent instincts near the goal.
His performances soon earned him a move to Real Madrid in January 2007, where he grew from a promising young forward into one of Europe’s most reliable goal scorers.
From Madrid to Napoli and then Juventus, Higuain built a career full of goals, trophies and big moments.
At Napoli, he reached his peak, scoring 36 goals in a single Serie A season and writing his name into Italian football history.
After spells with Juventus, AC Milan and Chelsea, he moved to Inter Miami in 2020, where he eventually retired in 2022.
For a while, Higuain seemed to have stepped away from the constant attention that followed him during his playing days. But that changed when a recent image of him with a fan surfaced on ‘X’.
The image shows Higuain, inside what appears to the Tennis Plaza store, standing beside a fan in a casual, unposed moment. He is wearing a yellow sleeveless tank top, blue-green shorts and slip-on sandals, with a phone in his hand.
His longer hair, thick beard and relaxed posture give him an ordinary, off-duty look, rather than the sharp, polished image fans were used to seeing during his playing days.
However, once the image spread, the conversation quickly turned cruel towards his current look.
Sure he’s lost his hair, grown out a beard and put on a few pounds but let’s not forget that he was prolific striker.
But for all the goals he scored, some of his misses followed him just as closely.
The biggest example came in the 2014 World Cup final against Germany, when he missed a clear chance that many fans later blamed for Argentina’s defeat.
That moment did not end with the final whistle. It stayed with him, followed him through the rest of his career, and became part of the criticism that damaged both his legacy and, as he later admitted, his mental well-being.
After retiring, Higuain reflected on how footballers are often treated like machines, being expected to absorb criticism without showing emotion.
This incident says less about how Higuain looks today and more about how quickly online culture can strip athletes of basic empathy.
Higuain’s legacy should not be shaped by his current look or a handful of missed chances. He was one of the finest strikers of his generation, a player who delivered goals across Argentina, Spain, Italy, England and the United States.
More importantly, his story is a reminder that footballers do not stop being human once they leave the pitch.
If the sport wants to take mental health seriously, that empathy has to extend beyond active players and into how retired athletes are spoken about, remembered and treated online.
