It was one of the best kept secrets in football when Gonzalo Higuain travelled to Madrid to undergo his Juventus medical on Friday before yesterday’s explosive announcement that a deal had been agreed between the Old Lady and Napoli. The announcement on Sky Sport on Saturday morning sent shockwaves around planet football, but did the bianconeri really activate the €94.7 million clause to bring Pipita to Turin?
 

The reality is that Juve will pay slightly less than that because two payments of €45 million, will be payable in two-years so Higuain will not be fully paid for until next summer. Juventus took a gamble that the 28-year-old Argentine would be true to his word after first contacting the player last May; that gamble has paid off to the astonishment of most football enthusiasts.  

The mission to Spain to undergo the medical was actually the brainchild of his agent and brother Nicolas, who met with bianconeri directors earlier last week to explain that if his brother arrived at the Napoli training camp in Dimaro on Monday as agreed, it would be impossible for him to join Juventus. The Old Lady, aware that the clause was due to expire on July 31, took action even though the sale of Paul Pogba to Manchester United, which would help finance the deal, is still to be confirmed. The rest is now history as Gonzalo Higuain becomes the most expensive signing in the history of Italian football.

Adapted from an original article by Fabrizio Romano. Translation by Steve Mitchell