If PSG and Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani has not already written his autobiography, then I have a perfect title for it, it should be called ‘Living in the shadows of the stars’.
The reason for the title is that world superstars have upstaged the experienced striker in recent years. However, Cavani is a star in his own right. The 30-year-old is a prolific scorer of goals and has been for close to a decade in European football.
Now, though, reports suggest that his PSG career could be reaching its end after a bust-up with the clubs new golden boy Neymar. The pair recently argued over a penalty kick and an earlier free-kick.
Cavani has stated that he has no problem with the Brazilian. However, reports in Spain suggest that PSG has offered the striker to Spanish champions Real Madrid. Newspapers in England suggest that Chelsea and Everton are monitoring the striker’s situation in Paris.
Living in the shadows of the stars
I feel sorry for Edinson Cavani, he is no doubt an expert goalscorer, yet he never seems to receive the praise he deserves. The main reason is that during his time at PSG, the striker has had to compete with players of a higher-profile for praise.
In recent years, Cavani had to compete with Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic for praise and acknowledgement. Last season he was the main man and lived up to the billing, scoring 35 times in just 36 Ligue One appearances
However, now he has to compete with the world’s most expensive player Neymar and to a lesser extent wonderkid Kylian Mbappe.
His superstar teammates may be more technically gifted, but Cavani is a vital focal point of the PSG team. The Uruguayan consistently scores goals and a striker like that are hard to come by. If he had been at any other team in Europe, he would have received far more praise by now.
As it is, Cavani is still in the shadow of Neymar after the Brazilian’s world-record arrival from Barcelona. The Brazilian international moved to PSG to be the main man. It seems he is prepared to push Cavani out of the way to achieve his objective.
Cavani would score goals in most teams in Europe
Edinson Cavani is a goalscorer, simple as that. He has scored over 25 goals in each of his four seasons at PSG and already has nine for the season in all competitions. If he sees out the campaign, no doubt Cavani will score 25-plus goals once again this season.
In fact, the Uruguayan is the favourite to win the Ligue One Golden Boot at odds of 10/11 this season.
If Cavani does decide to leave in January, there will a queue of clubs willing to take him off PSG’s hands. Even at 30-years-old, Cavani would be a good signing for many clubs in the top echelons of European football.
The link to Chelsea seems to be a strange one. The Blues brought in Spanish striker Alvaro Morata as a replacement for Diego Costa. The 24-year-old has enjoyed a decent start to his Blues career. It seems unlikely the English champions would make a move.
A move to Real Madrid to compete with Los Blancos’ BBC of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale would mean the striker does not start every game and that may not appeal to the Uruguayan.
PSG should be grateful for Cavani
I do not claim to know Edinson Cavani personally. However, maybe he does not crave the limelight of being a star player in a big team. Maybe he does and just keeps being cast aside for shinier toys.
PSG should be grateful for the Uruguayan striker. Cavani has got on with his job and even when he was forced to play out wide with Ibrahimovic as the main striker he still performed to a decent standard.
Edinson Cavani has played a big part in getting PSG to where they are now. The Parisians are seen as a genuine contender to win the Champions League. Without Cavani’s goals, the Parisians would not be in their current position.
If the rumours of a possible exit are true, then it would be a shame to see Cavani leave PSG when the team are seemingly on the cusp of something special.
