Lots of big teams have been lining up trying to see if they can pry Gonzalo Higuain away from Napoli. Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, and Atletico Madrid have all been linked to Pipita, some quite aggressively.
A whole long list of potential fees have been thrown around for a potential sale -- €35 million, €40 million, even €50 million have been mentioned as potential fees for a team that wants to buy Higuain. Napoli, however, have another number in mind: Higuain's full release clause. And it's a doozy.
Napoli are keen to clarify certain articles, published in some newspapers, about the departure of Higuain.
The official clarification from Napoli is the following: there is a clause in Gonzalo Higuain’s contract. The clause is €94,736,000.
There have been no bids. Anyone who wants the player will have to pay the club that amount.
-Source: Tuttonapoli
That's, uh, wow. That's a lot of money. Also oddly specific, making one wonder how it was determined, but that's a separate issue. For now, though, the important part is that Napoli's seemingly-resolute stance on Higuain's release clause being paid or no deal getting done will likely scare off most of his potential suitors.
There's still every chance that a sufficiently high bid under the release clause piques Napoli's interest, but now only serious teams will stay in the chase. Higuain makes Napoli better, to be sure, but this fanbase won't be forgetting his penalty miss against Lazio any time soon, nor will Napoli be in the Champions League this season as he so desperately desires. If he wants out and gets his way, at least Napoli will get a massive stack of cash to play with when he's gone.
