After leaving Old Trafford Edinson Cavani enjoyed a mini resurgence at Valencia last season.
The Uruguayan scored four goals in three matches in October before ankle and muscle injuries stemmed his momentum. At 36, a record of seven goals in 28 appearances was not ground-breaking but was respectable for a secondary striker.
But, just a year after his arrival in Spain, the forward is being linked with the exit door. Considering the nature of this summer's transfer market, it's no surprise the interest is coming from Saudi Arabia.
Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr is the team reportedly looking at the former Red. According to Tutto Mercato Web, Cavani is seen as an option who would strengthen their forward line given Al Ittihad have announced the arrival of Karim Benzema this summer.
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Should Cavani choose to move to Al Nassr he will be met with a familiar problem in Ronaldo and his star status. Something he told his brother Fernando he wanted to avoid when he agreed a new one-year deal at United in 2021, shortly before Ronaldo arrived.
Explaining in an interview with ESPN Brasil, he said: "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 [me for] another club.
"But 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. As I know, after years in football, how things are these days.
"It was more about understanding the situation. Not because I couldn’t play in my place at Manchester, but because there are a lot of things in football today that are different from how they were with other managers, like they were before, years ago. I thought: Let’s play, do the best we can."
Cavani seemed to be hinting at the time he was unsure whether both he and Ronaldo could start in the same team together. Admittedly the former's injuries were a factor but the prediction came true as the pair only played alongside each other on 14 occasions.
Both have now left Old Trafford and Ronaldo is captain of the Middle East club. At this stage of his career and given his star status, he is likely to play in the centre forward position meaning Al Nassr will either have to change formation to accommodate Cavani or he will face reduced game time.
It's back to the start of the 2021-22 season at United, should Cavani and the Al Nassr rumours have some substance.
