Milan: Gonzalo Higuain has angrily denied being given an armed escort or receiving death threats following his mega-money move to Serie A champions Juventus from rivals Napoli.
The Argentine scored a Serie A record 36 goals for Napoli last season as they finished runners-up to Juventus to secure their return to the Champions League.
But the former Real Madrid star caused shock and dismay in Naples when he moved to Turin for an Italian transfer record 90 million euros (Dh350.2 million) this summer.
Higuain, who has hit a barren patch in the past month, has also faced harsh criticism from Argentina fans following a couple of underwhelming performances in World Cup qualifiers.
Reports surfaced last month claiming Higuain had enlisted the help of an Italian special operations unit after receiving death threats.
But on Thursday he told Corriere della Sera: “To come out and make unfounded allegations shows a total lack of respect.
“I’ve never had an (armed) escort in my life and I never will. And it’s the same about the threats — I never received any.”
Juventus fans will be hoping Higuain, who has been fit enough only for the substitutes’ bench in recent weeks, returns in time for Saturday’s visit of high-flying Atalanta.
Juve suffered just their third defeat of the season at Genoa last week and the striker watched from the bench as the champions lost 3-1 and saw their lead from Roma and AC Milan cut to four points.
Juve have a number of players in the treatment room, including forwards Paulo Dybala and Marko Pjaca, defenders Andrea Barzagli and Leonardo Bonucci and wing-back Dani Alves.
Meanwhile, Serie A strugglers Palermo have replaced coach Roberto De Zerbi with Eugenio Corini following their fourth round exit from the Italian Cup and the club’s slide to the bottom of the table.
De Zerbi became the latest in a long line of coaches at the Sicilian club when he replaced Davide Ballardini two games into the current campaign.
But his reign, too, has ended in disaster.
Palermo registered a club record seventh consecutive defeat when they lost 1-0 at home to Lazio at the weekend.
And trigger-happy club president Maurizio Zamparini finally snapped when they lost 5-4 on penalties to second division side La Spezia in the fourth round of the Cup on Wednesday.
La Spezia have set up a plum last 16 tie with Napoli, while Palermo will look to save their season by appointing Corini, according to a brief club statement which read: “Given the circumstances surrounding the first team, the club feels compelled to appoint a new coach in Eugenio Corini.”
Palermo president Zamparini, who bought the club in 2002, is no stranger to upheaval, with Italian media reporting he has overseen close to 60 coaching changes in 29 years as a club owner.
He made a record eight changes last season, when Ballardini was sacked in January before returning in April to oversee Palermo’s fight against relegation.
De Zerbi, 37, managed third-division Foggia the past two years and, luckily for him, inserted a clause into his contract that guarantees him a 500,000-euro payout in case of dismissal.
Corini, who counts Torino, Palermo, Juventus and Sampdoria among the clubs he played for, previously coached Crotone, Frosinone and Chievo.
