Rome: Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain yesterday moved to AC Milan in a three-player swap deal between the seven-time European champions and Juventus that will see Leonardo Bonucci return to Turin after just a season away.
Milan signed 30-year-old Higuain on a one-year loan deal worth a reported 18 million euros ($21m) that gives them the option to buy the striker next summer for a further 36m euros.
Italy centre-back Bonucci has been swapped for promising Mattia Caldara just weeks after Caldara arrived at Juve following his transfer from Atalanta, which was agreed in January 2017.
Higuain left Juventus, where he won two Serie A titles and scored 40 goals in 76 league appearances, following the shock signing of Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid that made the Argentine surplus to requirements.
Italian media reported that Higuain’s transfer had been structured to allow Milan to comply with Uefa’s Financial Fair Play regulations, which they fell foul of last season.
His move opened the door for Bonucci to return to Turin, where the defender won six league titles and reached two Champions League finals.
The 31-year-old Bonucci returns to Juve after just one season with Milan, who could only finish sixth last season and missed the Champions League despite spending over 200m euros ($233m) on new players last summer.