They say never meet your heroes, but Manchester United 's Edinson Cavani showed just why such a thing can be a dream come true following their 3-0 victory over Brentford on Monday.
The 35-year-old met super fan Lola Eastwood outside Old Trafford after the match, having appeared as a late substitute during the Red Devils' emphatic win to mark their final home game. In a heartwarming video, Cavani is seen consoling the emotional youngster, who pled for him not to leave the club at the end of the season.
Having only made six Premier League starts over the course of the 2021-22 campaign, the Uruguayan is set to depart when his contract expires in less than two months' time. A cult hero among the United fanbase thanks to his goals and grafting performances last term, Cavani became Lola's idol, and mum Frankie made sure to capture the moment she met him on camera.
In the clip, shared by presenter Alison Bender, Lola is seen hugging the striker, telling him: "Don't leave." Cavani responded by giving her a kiss on the forehead before a nervous Lola, equipped with a scarf bearing his face, showed off her 'Miss Kick' headband - a football brand for girls and women - which she asked him to wear after signing some artwork.
Cavani happily obliged and posed for a photo, making Lola's day. Lola and her fellow Cavani enthusiasts will now be hoping to watch him feature in two final away matches for the Red Devils before his imminent departure. The former Paris Saint-Germain ace, who made his name in Italy with Palermo and Napoli, almost left during the January transfer window, but interim manager Ralf Rangnick asked him to stay.
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"I told him from the very first day he is a highly important player, he is probably the only one who can play as a striker [with his] back to goal and face to goal," Rangnick explained.
"And as I said, his professionalism and his work ethic is just amazing. I told him I desperately want him to stay and stay until the end of the season, and he knows that. He also knows how highly I rate him and how highly I respect him."
With Cavani leaving now, though, Rangnick and incoming boss Erik ten Hag are focussing on recruiting at least one replacement. "For me, it is a question of what players Manchester United have in the future. It is obvious United need two more quality strikers," Rangnick stated after the Brentford romp.
"Modern strikers do not necessarily have to be strikers. Liverpool or Manchester City have five or six top-class strikers. If you ask me if Gabriel Jesus or Jack Grealish is a winger or a striker, they can all play there. Mason Greenwood would have been one, then after the West Ham game he was no longer part of the squad. Anthony Martial was on loan and Edinson Cavani injured."
