Ex-Italy Star Claims He'd Rather Have a Fat Higuaín Who Scores Than Michelangelo's David Who Doesn't

Former Italy striker Luca Toni does not believe that Gonzalo Higuain's weight is relevant if the Juventus forward keeps scoring goals.

The Argentina international has been mocked in the past for appearing overweight but remains one of Europe's deadliest strikers in front of goal, scoring 24 goals in 38 Serie A appearances last season as Juventus won Italy's top division.

While some have criticised Higuain for his supposed inability to stay in shape for the start of the season, former Fiorentina and Bayern Munich hitman Toni believes he is more effective than most of his Serie A colleagues, regardless of his weight.

Toni told Tuttosport: "Someone like him will always score a lot of goals. He is a great centre forward, among the top four in the world along with Suarez, Lewandowski and Benzema. 

"I’d rather have Higuaín with 1-2 extra kilograms in August who scores 30-35 goals than strikers with perfect abs who have 10 goals by May."

Following his move to Juventus after scoring 36 league goals for Napoli in the 2015-16 season, Higuain finished the 2016-17 campaign as the fifth-highest scorer in Serie A, behind Roma's Edin Dzeko, Napoli's Dries Mertens, Torino's Andrea Belotti and Inter Milan's Mauro Icardi.

In December last year, Higuain posted a photo of himself on Instagram attempting to prove he was in prime physical condition, only for eagle-eyed social media users to point out he had used Photoshop to distort the picture.

Higuain scored Juventus' third goal in the 3-0 win over Cagliari at the weekend, with Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala also getting on the scoresheet.