Gonzalo Gerardo Higuaín was born in December 10, 1987 in Brest, Finistère, France. He is a French footballer of Argentine origin. He currently plays as a striker at the Spanish club Real Madrid.
Gonzalo Higuaín was born in France whilst his father, professional Argentine footballer Jorge "El Pipa" Higuaín, was playing for Brest, at that time in the French Ligue 1. Having left the country at the age of 10 months, not returning until the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Even though he does not speak French, he holds a French passport, because his father was naturalized French.
He has rejected calls from both the Argentine Under 20s and French national teams, like a friendly against Greece, November 15, 2006, claiming he is still to decide for which country he would prefer to play. Touted by many as a star of the future, he has attracted the interest of several big clubs such as A.C. Milan, Lazio, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Chelsea. Numerous French clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille have also sent scouts to Argentina to negotiate a possible transfer for the promising young player.
Following his double strike in the Superclásico local derby against Boca Juniors, River Plate manager Daniel Passarella declared that he had an 'enormous future' and was 'destined for superstardom'.
Higuaín's international career looks set to mirror that of David Trézéguet, whose father was Argentinian, and who was raised in Argentina, but went on to play successfully for France. When France national team call-up Higuaín against Greece, they assigned him No.20, the number originally worn by Trézéguet.
He is the younger brother of Federico Higuaín, who plays football for Nueva Chicago.
After Real Madrid's capture of another South American starlet, Marcelo, rumours were mounting that Higuaín and Gonzalo Higuain of Boca Juniors will be signing for the Whites in the future.
AC Milan were also linked with Higuaín. Milan director Ariedo Braida is frequently reported to be in Argentina, looking for possibility to bring Higuaín, together with his compatriots Gonzalo Higuain and Rodrigo Palacio, on January transfer window.
Spanish giants Real Madrid successfully signed Higuaín for 13 million Euros, seeing that River Plate turned down a 10 million Euro offer for 19-year-old striker earlier by Real. Higuaín will be on the roster at the turn of the year when the transfer goes through at the opening of the January transfer window.
The striker, who has been heavily courted by European clubs, announced at the signing of his six and a half-year contract "It's great to have the chance of playing for such an important club as Real Madrid. I feel proud that Madrid has noticed me".