AC Milan's Higuaín: Only Sarri wanted me at Chelsea

Gonzalo Higuaín joined AC Milan from Juventus because he felt wanted by everyone at the club, whereas only Maurizio Sarri seemed keen to bring him to Chelsea.

Following Juve's €112million signing of Cristiano Ronaldo in July, Higuaín quickly became the subject of transfer speculation, as he was seemingly ushered towards the exit.

Chelsea, now coached by Higuaín's former Napoli boss Sarri, appeared to be favourites for a time to sign the striker as a replacement for Álvaro Morata, who struggled in his first season at Stamford Bridge.

But Milan made their move and ultimately secured an initial one-year loan for €18m with an option to buy for €36m, while Mattia Caldara and Leonardo Bonucci swapped clubs – the latter returning to Juve after just a season away.

Higuaín has now revealed he had the impression Sarri was the only one at Chelsea pushing for his signature.

"The esteem I have for Sarri is great, but the only person who wanted me at Chelsea was him," Higuaín told reporters at his Milan presentation on Friday.

"Instead, here at Milan, everyone wanted me, and this is the most beautiful thing you can hear as a player, that feeling that they really want you. This is why I made my choice to come here."

There had been suggestions that a strained relationship with Massimiliano Allegri was part of the reason Higuaín opted to depart, though he insists that is not the case, even if they did not always see eye-to-eye.

"I worked alongside Allegri for a couple of years," Higuain said. "We had differences, but that did not result in me coming here, just the motivation Milan showed me.

"I've a lot of confidence in this team. I enjoyed how they played last season. I have represented clubs who've always aimed to win, and Milan have always aimed to win.

"The aim is to get Milan winning again. I am really happy to be here."