The past two decades have produced some of the world’s most prolific forwards. Outside of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, the 21st century has seen the likes of Karim Benzema, Luis Suarez, and Robert Lewandowski come to the forefront. As well as them, Argentina’s Gonzalo Higuain has also hit the heights throughout his trophy-winning career. So, let’s take a look at the Juventus forward and consider where he ranks in relation to other modern-day strikers.

Clinical Goalscoring Form 

Having come through the River Plate academy, the now 32-year-old made the move to Real Madrid in 2007. Throughout his six years at the Santiago Bernabeu, Higuain scored 121 goals in 264 appearances, as well as providing 56 assists, according to Transfermarkt. His success at Los Blancos opened the door for him to Join Napoli in July 2013, where he went on to further his goalscoring reputation.

In the 2015-16 campaign, the Argentine broke the Serie A record regarding single-season goals. Although the achievement has since been matched by Lazio’s Ciro Immobile, at the time, Higuain became the first player to hit 36 goals in Italy’s top-flight division. Impressively, in doing so, the former River Plate graduate averaged more than one goal a game, having only featured in 35 matches, as per Bleacher Report.

Furthermore, since 2000, Higuain has been a top-25 player concerning goal involvements. According to a report by GiveMeSport, the Argentine’s 449 goal contributions over the last two decades better the numbers recorded by Arjen Robben, Frank Lampard, Dries Mertens, and Robin van Persie. In turn, this is a testament to Higuain’s goalscoring prowess and showcases how pivotal he’s been to Juventus, Madrid, and Napoli.

Troubled by Big-Game Torment 

While finding the back of the net has never been an issue for Higuain from a domestic standpoint week-on-week, he’s often struggled in high-stakes matches. Of course, this doesn’t detract from his abilities, but it’s worth pointing out that, despite his torment, the Argentine has the mental strength to bounce back. Perhaps most infamously, Higuain missed a fairly routine effort in the 2014 FIFA World Cup final when one-on-one with Manuel Neuer. If he had converted, the Argentine may have won the tournament.

This is just one example of the striker’s big-game misfortune. However, somebody of Higuain’s pedigree doesn’t win the titles that he has without being able to deliver regularly. Sadly, for the 32-year-old his shortcomings have somewhat overshadowed his career success. In the sport’s history, few players have won three La Liga and Serie A titles, and a UEFA Europa League, as well as other domestic cups. Moreover, if Higuain wins the title in 2020-21 with Juventus, who are priced at 10/11 with Serie A betting to retain the league, then he’ll move just two behind Alessandro Del Piero and Andrea Pirlo regarding all-time Serie A triumphs.

Deserving of Respect 

Although some honours are missing from Higuain’s personal trophy cabinet, the Argentine can look back on his career with immense pride when he eventually moves on from top-flight European football. While it’s easy to forget that he’s been a top-25 striker over the last two decades, his big-game blunders shouldn’t define the six-time league winner.