Chicago Fire striker Fabian Herbers has branded Gonzalo Higuain 'pathetic' for his 'terrible' body language during their opening MLS draw with Inter Miami last weekend.
David Beckham's Miami franchise played out a stalemate with Chicago in their 2022 curtain raiser last Saturday, failing to get off to a winning start at the DRV PNK Stadium.
It was a frustrating afternoon for Higuain, who looked visibly frustrated at times as he and his fellow attackers drew blank in their opening fixture.
And following the draw, Chicago star Herbers took aim at Higuain for his negative body language on the day, accusing him of being a 'destructive' team-mate.
When asked if he got the former Real Madrid and Chelsea striker's shirt after the game, Herbers said on his Zee Soccer Podcast: 'F*ck that guy, man.
'This guy is so pathetic. Obviously, he's a presence on the field and every time a teammate of his makes a wrong pass or something or doesn't pass the ball exactly to him, he's just standing there looking in a negative mood.
'His body language is just terrible. I wouldn't want to be a teammate of his. I'm over it. F*ck that guy. I want nothing, no part of it.
'In the first game already, he's so negative, so destructive, so negative towards your own teammates who you're supposed to try to help.
'You're supposed to lift them up, supposed to make them better as a leader, as a DP, and I think it's going to be a long season for Miami and Higuain as well if that continues.
'Every time there's a missed pass he's just rolling his eyes and absolutely shockingly negative.'
D.C. United ace Julian Gressel, Herbers' co-host on the podcast, agreed with his view on Higuain and added: 'That feeling of having your leader, your captain have that type of body language and reaction towards young teammates, guys that haven't played a ton of minutes in MLS because of the budget problems and that stuff, that's definitely a red flag for me as well.
'I don't like to lead that way and I don't think a good captain leads that way.'