SUMMARY
- there was an incident where Ronaldo once denied Higuain a clear opportunity to score and denied his hat trick.
- Higuain had gotten past the goalkeeper and was about to score, but Ronaldo surprisingly tried to take the ball from him.
Under the stewardship of Jose Mourinho, Real Madrid was a real powerhouse in the European soccer circuit back in the early 2010s. The squad which was filled with stars had the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain, Karim Benzema, Mesut Ozil, Xabi Alson, Ricardo Kaka, Angel Di Maria, and many more.
While goal-scoring prowess was never a problem for Mourinho’s side back then, there were instances where internal competition between star players took center stage. One such incident involving Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain made the headlines back then. The incident was about when Ronaldo once denied Higuain a clear opportunity to score and denied his hat trick.
During a La Liga encounter against Osasuna back in 2012, Real Madrid was already 5-1 up thanks to braces from Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain, and a solitary strike by Karim Benzema. However, Real Madrid could have had another one if not for the Portuguese superstar.
Gonzalo Higuain who already had a brace in the game was through the opposition’s goal following a lovely setup by Mesut Ozil. Higuain had gotten past the goalkeeper and was about to score, but Ronaldo surprisingly tried to take the ball from him.
Higuain stumbled and fell from Ronaldo’s challenge, causing the ball to go out of play. To make matters worse, Ronaldo didn’t seem apologetic about it. In addition, replays of the incident show that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was offside anyway.
Although Real Madrid still won the match and managed to win the La Lig that season, Ronaldo’s denying the opportunity to let Higuain earn the match ball remains a topic of debate and speculation to date.
Throwback to when Gonzalo Higuain called Cristiano Ronaldo a mature person
During his sting with Juventus, former Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain praised his former teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo. The duo who once played together under Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid, got reunited back at Juventus when the Portuguese icon joined the Italian side from Real Madrid back in 2018.
Higuain who left Real Madrid for Napoli back in 2013, joined the Old Lady back in 2016. Higuain had the privilege of playing with Cristiano Ronaldo yet against when the latter joined the Turin-based side in 2018.
Higuain would’ve been remembered as a bigger player at Juve if Ronaldo didn’t come. He was the collateral damage because of his high salary and after being pushed around on loans he was done. Still,he gave his all, scored some important goals and I wish him nothing but the best🙌 pic.twitter.com/Ff5KkVyoJl
— 𝕄𝕒𝕩_𝕁𝕦𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕠 🦓 (@MaksJuventino) September 11, 2020
After playing a few games together, the former Argentine striker stated that Cristiano Ronaldo has matured since their time at Real Madrid. He said, “We had already played together with Real. Many years have passed, and I have found another player, a more mature person, with a family. I enjoyed playing alongside him before and I am glad that we are back together.”
Although being contracted with the Italian side till 2021, Higuain soon left a year later to join the current Lionel Messi’s side, Inter Miami.