Diego Maradona claims Napoli will sell Gonzalo Higuain to raise money
Argentine football legend Diego Maradona believes Italian club Napoli will sell its star striker Gonzalo Higuain, who has had a brilliant season, at the end of the summer to raise money.
The 28-year-old has netted 30 goals from his 32 Serie A matches which is almost double the tally of the next top scorer in the league.
"Observing the situation from the outside, I think Higuain will be sold to raise money," Maradona was quoted as saying by football-italia.net on Tuesday.
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"He cannot repeat a season like this. He scored basically in every match, 30 goals. Knowing (president Aurelio) De Laurentiis, he will sell."
Maradona, a Napoli legend helping them to two Serie titles in the 1980s, said with the money that comes in, Napoli must look to build a strong team.
"But what Napoli must do with the money he brings in is build a wonderful team. Pipita (Higuain) gave his best to Napoli, I don't think he can repeat this kind of form. We already saw it happen with Pocho (Ezequiel) Lavezzi," he said.
Juventus have Italian referees – Maradona
The 55-year-old also spoke against Juventus' title victory and said if Napoli would not have been in the title race, Higuain, who was handed a four-match ban for insulting the referee, would have escaped with a lesser punishment.
"If Napoli weren't challenging for anything, Pipita would've been given a one-match ban, but as the team was in the thick of the title race, he got four," he said.
"Juventus have phenomenal players, but also the Italian referees! It's nothing new, the Juventus players are always right. De Laurentiis ought to make himself respected, the way other Napoli directors did in the past."