FINAL EDITION
Cavani keen to finish career on a high after pushing back his retirement plans
A year after Manchester United’s veteran Uruguayan striker was contemplating retirement when he contractied coronavirus, he has now got his sights set on a glorious ending to his storied career.
After being released by Paris Saint-Germain, he went on holiday to Ibiza with team-mates Neymar,
Angel Di Maria and
Mauro Icardi and fell ill.
“I thought about retiring and going back to Uruguay to live out in the country instead of travelling and playing football,” confessed 34-year-old Cavani.
But something inside told him he still had unfinished business.
Cavani kept quiet for a month about contracting the virus because he did not want to spook potential suitors.
And when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer came calling in October, he had no hesitation in accepting the offer to move to Manchester.
Cavani had planned for his Premier League adventure to last only a year before returning to South America to wind down his career.
But Solskjaer was able to seduce him into staying another 12 months with the prospect of playing at a packed Old Trafford – and the sweetener of £250,000 a week.
Cavani now intends to hang up his boots after next year’s World Cup in Qatar – when he will be a couple of months short of his 36th birthday. He said: “In football terms, my dream is to reach the World Cup in Qatar, then step aside and dedicate myself more to my family, my people, my things.
“We are now in the last dance.” Cavani will return to training this week after being given extra time off following his exertions at the Copa
America. But he built a gym at his family home in the city of Salto so that he can stay in peak condition.
The Uruguayan was vaccinated against Covid after returning to his
homeland at the end of May. He appeared in a video made by the Pan American Health Organisation urging his countrymen to get themselves jabbed.
And he has also been offering his support to Nahuel Tuya, a 20-year-old who was a promising defender for Manchester City’s sister club Montevideo City Torque before being forced to retire through depression.
It is that selflessness that Solskjaer was desperate to keep at Old Trafford.
Assistant manager Mike Phelan revealed: “What we wanted from Edinson was that experience, that determination and winning mentality.
“Bringing him on board was a nobrainer.
“What we said to him was, ‘Do you want to go again? Do you want to be really challenged again?’
“He has been fantastic. Edinson’s English is not the best, but he speaks football.”
Cavani’s decision to lead United’s attack for another season means Solskjaer can spend the next 12 months priming a bid for Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland.
Capturing long-term target Jadon Sancho from Dortmund and adding French World Cup winner Raphael Varane from Real Madrid has addressed some of the weaknesses in a squad that finished a distant second to rivals City last season.
But Paul Pogba’s contract impasse is an issue that the United manager needs to address, while David De Gea’s future is also a problem given the £350,000-a-week keeper is likely to start the campaign behind Dean Henderson.
MANAGER: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
BIG SIGNING: Jadon Sancho (right)
£73m from Borussia Dortmund
Bruno Fernandes (midfield)
Solskjaer has strengthened his squad and signed a new three-year deal, but that will offer little protection if he fails to build a title bid.