Former Real Madrid and Chelsea striker Gonzalo Higuain recently announced his retirement from professional football after the end of the current MLS season.

The Argentine has enjoyed a glittering career, representing top European clubs like Real Madrid, Chelsea, Juventus and Napoli throughout his career.

Higuain, however, slammed the toxic social media culture of football. He believes hate comments across various platforms are really hurtful and an individual could suffer due to those.

Higuain further added how his family came to his aid to help him go through tough situations. Here’s what he said:

“There’s kind of toxic feeling around football on social media. You can’t imagine the damage that comments on social networks do. I was really suffering, my family helped me. So, people should think before attacking on social media – it’s really serious topic.”

Higuain is the current captain of Inter Miami. He joined the club in 2020 and has since scored 27 goals and assisted 11 more in 67 games for them.

The Argentine played 264 games for Real Madrid, scoring 121 goals and providing 56 assists in all competitions.

After leaving Madrid in 2013, Higuain spent three seasons at Napoli, scoring 91 goals and providing 26 assists in 146 games across all competitions.

Higuain joined Juventus in 2016, scoring 66 goals and providing 16 assists in 149 games. During his time at Juventus, he spent loan spells at AC Milan and Chelsea as well.

The player made 75 appearances for the Argentina national team and scored 31 goals