Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Jack Flintham

Edinson Cavani suggests Cristiano Ronaldo signing made him want to leave Manchester United

Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani has revealed that if he had known Cristiano Ronaldo would be joining the club, he would not have signed at Old Trafford.

Cavani's contract is set to expire at the end of the season and he is not expected to be signing a new deal at the Theatre of Dreams. The 35-year-old's campaign at United has been blighted by injury with the Uruguayan having played just six matches since the turn of the year.

Having joined from PSG in 2020, Cavani signed a new contract extension at Old Trafford on May 10. On August 31, United announced that Ronaldo would be returning to the Theatre of Dreams on a two-year deal.

ALSO READ: Manchester United told why James Ward-Prowse transfer could cost them £100m

According to Cavani, who was speaking to ESPN Brazil via Sports Mole, he would not have extended his stay in Manchester if he had known of the Portuguese ace's return. The striker explained: "Speaking the truth, for I always tell the truth, as it should be.

"At the moment it happened, I thought it was good that Manchester 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 with 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 objectives, and that’s perfect for sportsmen. But as I know, after years in football, how things are these days… That’s why I was talking to my brother.

"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 coaches, how it was before, years ago.

"But how it happened suddenly, at no time did I have any sensation. I thought: 'Let’s play, do the best we can'.”

Cavani then addressed his injury problems at United which he eventually returned from on Monday night in the 3-0 victory over Brentford. "Over time, regardless of my injuries at the club, which kept me a little out of the season… I went through difficult situations, different from what I faced last year," he explained.

"And after a few months, I called my brother again and said: ‘Remember what you said at the beginning of the season? Before the season started’. You see, I’m speaking as if we were sit next to each other.

"Here there are no secrets in football. For me, it’s all been made up, and I have a vision of football that nobody takes away from me.

"So I called my brother and said that. Because he was like: ‘Be positive, Edi, you’ll do a good job…’ I said: ‘Yes, Fernando, I have no doubt it can be like this, But let’s see how things go with the time’.

"And everything happened and that’s it, here we are, adding up, like everywhere I’ve been, but my way of thinking and way of seeing football gave me reason in the first months and from then on… problems with injuries and I was a bit out. But that was a little bit of what happened in that period."

Sign up to our United newsletter so you never miss an update from Old Trafford this season.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.