Juventus Striker Higuain Ordered to Pay £45k After Losing Case Against Former Club Napoli

Italian club SSC Napoli have confirmed on their official Twitter page that former striker Gonzalo Higuaín has lost his court case against the club over his image rights in the 2015/16 season.

The Argentine international signed for Juventus last summer, but the frontman claimed he was owed €600,000 in image rights, for his final season with the club.

However, it is now understood that the Arbitration Committee has rejected Higuaín's case and the 29-year-old is now required to pay the £45,000 costs of the arbitrator while also covering all legal fees from the dispute.

The striker's agent and brother Nicolas Higuaín claimed that Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis broke promises regarding Gonzalo's image rights and didn’t fulfil his end of Higuaín’s contract.

He told Italian website Tuttosport at the start of July: “We’re not talking about a game of football, it’s more serious. We’re talking about a professional who had a precise contract, and his former employer, President De Laurentiis, didn’t respect it fully."

Reports were rife last week that the case had been dropped as Higuaín’s lawyers were yet to submit the correct paperwork within the 50 day limit, and Napoli have today confirmed their victory in the case.

Image by Freddie Carty

After joining the Partenopei from Real Madrid in 2013, the talisman netted 91 times in 146 before leaving at the start of the 2016/17 season. 

Despite this, Napoli still fared well without him, with Belgian forward Dries Mertens firing them to the Coppa Italia semi finals and a third place finish in Serie A.