GONE-zalo Higuain?

Today's events may have changed things a bit but in the wake of the humiliating elimination from the Champion's League one of the big scapegoats was looking to be Gonzalo Higuain. Obviously the manager was first in line and Kaka was coming in for his share of blame but Higuain's effort off the post after he had the keeper beat, along with a few other plays where he could have done better, had most of Madridom shouting that if only they had someone else in that position they would be looking forward to finding out who their quarter-final opponent would be. Then news of a dust up between him and the The Greasy One, who appears to be untouchable in the Merengue universe, surfaced and other players had to come out and insist everyone was cool and there was nothing to it. And on top of that there is the issue of his contract. Higuain and his agent told Real Madrid they want 4 million euros a season and the club responded with complete silence. There are still months to go until the end of the season but you would think a club would jump at a chance to lock up a guy like him at such a modest salary. Taken together all these things suggest that maybe Gonzalo Higuain is on his way out of Madrid.

I am not suggesting he is a better player than Cristiano Ronaldo, but I do think a lot of people (particularly Real supporters) don't grasp just how valuable he is. He started last season somewhere between starter and sub and wound up leading the club in goals. With the army of superstars the club signed over the summer he had to start over again and prove he should start. And now, in the middle of March, he is the team leader in league goals. After today's hat trick Higuain's La Liga total is 19, 4 ahead of The Greasy One. It is worth noting that Higuain has achieved this while playing less minutes thus far this season than his teammate. And all of his goals have come from open play while two of the TGO's have been from the penalty spot. So in reality Higuain has scored six more goals than the most expensive player in the history of professional sports, and yet Madrid is not sure he is worth four million euros a year.

Again, the apparent difficult moment for Higuain at the club may just be the passing by product of a tense week. But it may not. If the sixth consecutive CL debacle for Real Madrid results in Higuain at another club it will be the gift that keeps on giving. They will lose a key under appreciated piece, and I will finally be able to pull for a player I like without the mental asterisk that comes with seeing him in a Madrid shirt.