Cavani shock for United
Father says striker wants to leave England
The pressure on Manchester United to sign a new centre-forward this summer has intensified after Edinson Cavani’s father claimed the Uruguay striker was struggling to settle in England and wanted to leave Old Trafford at the end of the season.
Cavani, 34, joined United on a free transfer on deadline day in October and has impressed on and off the pitch despite injury troubles.
But Cavani’s father, Luis, has revealed that his son has not taken to England and has had talks with Argentine side Boca Juniors amid a desire to return to South America.
United have an option to extend Cavani’s contract by 12 months to the end of next season, and the player has previously claimed that he would stay for the duration in Manchester and “the day I return to South America is not going to be when I have nothing left to give”.
Yet his father has told Argentine channel TYC Sports that his son is ready to quit United this summer and has been in conversation with Juan Roman Riquelme, a vice-president at Boca, about a move there.
“My son does not feel comfortable in England and wants to be close to the family,” Luis Cavani said. “Edinson had many conversations with Riquelme and he would like to play for Boca. He was always seduced by the idea of playing in Boca. By the middle of the year, he will return to South America.”
It is unclear if United’s interest in signing another striker this summer is having any bearing on Cavani’s thoughts about his future.
But the need for United to strengthen in attack would become even more pressing if the Uruguayan – who has seven goals in 25 appearances – were to leave.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is eager to sign Erling Haaland, who rebuffed United 14 months ago to join Borussia Dortmund, but they face huge competition from a host of Europe’s top clubs, including Premier League rivals Manchester City and Chelsea.
Cavani has been made to feel welcome at United, but does not speak English. He was also disappointed to be banned for a controversial social media post in December.
There was uproar in Uruguay when Cavani was given a threematch suspension by the Football Association, fined £10,000 and ordered to complete a face-to-face education after accepting a misconduct charge and “aggravated breach” of the governing body’s race rules over an Instagram post. Cavani issued an immediate apology after replying to a message from a close friend after scoring twice in United’s 3-2 win at Southampton the previous month by saying “Gracias negrito”, which translates as “little black”. It is commonly used as a term of endearment in Uruguay.
Although Cavani accepted the ban out of solidarity with the fight against racism, neither he nor United felt the FA should have charged him.