Edinson Cavani has admitted that Manchester United’s signing of Cristiano Ronaldo last summer prompted him to change his mind on his own future at the club.
The Uruguayan’s contract at Old Trafford expires at the end of the season and he will leave Old Trafford as a free agent. A number of clubs in Europe have enquired about taking the 35-year-old but Argentine giants Boca Juniors are in the box seat to land his signature.
Cavani has been involved in just half of the number of Premier League matches this time round as he was in his debut season at United and whilst that has partly been down to multiple injuries, the arrival of Ronaldo pushed him down the pecking order.
The striker has now given an interview to ESPN Brasil in which he has admitted he phoned his brother and agent Walter Fernando Guglielmone after the arrival of Ronaldo to tell him that had this happened earlier, he would have wanted him to arrange a transfer away from United last summer.
Cavani had enjoyed an impressive debut season at United in which he played an important cameo role in which he scored 17 goals across all competitions, earning him a one-year contract extension – but that has not gone to plan.
The striker has now explained: "Speaking the truth, because I always tell the truth, as it should be. The moment it happened, I thought it was good that Manchester United signed Cristiano. Knowing a little about the world of football today, the first thing I did was call my brother and I said: 'Fernando, if this had happened a week ago, I would have asked you to sign another club'.
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"But this was not because I didn't want to play with Cristiano Ronaldo. No. Because I had the opportunity to meet him, and he's a great professional, with his goals, and that's perfect for sportsmen. But as I know him, after years in football, how things are these days...hence the fact of talking to my brother."
Cavani added: "It was more about understanding the situation. Not because I couldn't play for my place at Manchester United, but because there are a lot of things in football today that are different from how they were with other coaches, how it was before, years ago. I thought: lets play, lets do the best we can."
Cavani is one of a host of players that look destined to leave United at the end of the season, with incoming manager Erik ten Hag hoping to launch a dramatic overhaul of the playing squad. Meanwhile, Paul Pogba, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard are all slated to become free agents in the next few weeks, with Nemanja Matic also confirming he is exit.
