Football legend Diego Maradona. (Photo : Getty Images)
Diego Maradona is reportedly "hurt" about the reported impending transfer of striker Gonzalo Higuaín to rival Serie A club Juventus as the Napoli and Argentina legend also accused "fat cats of business" of not thinking about the fans.
Recent reports have emerged that the 28-year-old French-born Argentine forward, who was the Italian top flight's no. 1 goalscorer last term with 36 goals in 35 appearances, had gone through a medical with the Old Lady officials last Saturday after personally agreeing to join the Serie A champions next season.
Juve and Napoli are said to be still in the process of reaching an agreement for the official transfer of Higuaín, which should cost the Turin giants around £79 million, despite the player completing the medical, SkySports reported.
While the transfer is indeed not yet final, the 55-year-old football legend had already expressed his unhappiness about the impending deal. Aside from being Higuaín's countryman, Maradona is also a fellow Napoli player, which could explain why the Al-Wasl FC manager is upset about him leaving for Juve out of all the teams in the world.
"This Higuaín affair is hurting me because he is going to a direct rival like Juventus," Maradona wrote in his social media account. "But we cannot blame the player either."
Napoli almost unseated Juventus from their lofty perch as Italian domestic champions last term if not for a late-season incident that banned Higuaín for three games after he angrily protested a referees call to book him a red card in a 1-3 loss to Udinese, virtually ending the fight for the Scudetto right then and there.
"A player has a responsibility to himself and it is those fat cats of business that are grinning the most in this case," said Maradona, as per Daily Mail Online. "Nobody thinks of the fan."
Arsenal and Atletico Madrid are also speculated to be targeting Higuaín, and it would have okay for Maradona if they were the clubs in question, but it is Juventus, Napoli's old rival, that is more likely to land the striker this summer.
"I'm tired of saying that today it seems to be more important to be a good businessman than a good president," Maradona added, seemingly referring to Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis.
"This did not happen in my time. Too bad that FIFA continues to sleep," he ended.
