Edinson Cavani looked set to be Manchester United’s star striker this season after he penned a one-year extension with the club, but then Cristiano Ronaldo was re-signed
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Man Utd 3 – 2 Atalanta: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer post-match press conference
Manchester United had to practically beg Edinson Cavani to stay another season when his one-year contract expired in July.
Cavani’s dad, Luis, had not long come out in the press to reveal his son was “unhappy” living in the UK and wanted to return to South America.
And the former Paris Saint-Germain striker had also allegedly been in contact with Boca Juniors over a summer switch.
But Cavani changed his mind.
After kind words from Paul Pogba, in which he claimed the Uruguay international was on another level to the other strikers at Manchester United, Cavani agreed to stay another season.
Roll on three months and things changed quite dramatically for Cavani.
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After a pre-season in which he believed he was going to be the club’s star striker with the number 7 on his back, United re-signed Cristiano Ronaldo.
Within days Cavani was pressured into surrendering his shirt number and, effectively, regular first-team football.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has tried his best to keep things fair but so far Cavani has made only five appearances to Ronaldo’s eight.
Last time out Cavani was again named on the bench as Ronaldo took centre-stage in Man United’s Champions League clash with Atalanta.
Cavani watched as the Red Devils fell two goals behind before Solskjaer finally opted to bring the Uruguayan on, shoehorning him into the side with Ronaldo.
His impact was instant, with his flick-on setting up Harry Maguire to draw the scores level after Marcus Rashford halved the deficit.
With the game fizzling out, Ronaldo stole the plaudits with a sensational header to win all three points for Manchester United.
He celebrated with a knee slide in front of the Old Trafford crowd before dropping to the ground in delight moments later when the referee blew the final whistle.
But just out of shot Cavani was reacting to United’s comeback in quite the same way.
When Maguire hit the back of the net, the striker could be seen passionately windmilling his arms at the crowd in a bid to rile them up.
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He did the same when Ronaldo scored the winner, punching the air with delight and celebrating with the Man United supporters.
Cavani’s attitude sums up the man he is.
Former Man United striker Dimitar Berbatov previously sent Solskjaer a warning that Cavani may be “unhappy” at Old Trafford following the return of Ronaldo.
Berbatov revealed his worry in an interview with Betfair, saying: “It will be interesting to see how Ole keeps the other players happy. He will have to decide how he uses the likes of Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial.
“This is when managing a talented squad becomes difficult because players will feel hard done by.
“Cavani is probably unhappy. He had a great first season at United and how he’s dropped down the pecking order and lost his number seven shirt.
“I hope Ole has had an honest conversation with Cavani about his plans for the team. As a player in this situation, you understand that the manager’s job is to pick the best team, but you always want to play and become unhappy when you’re left out.”
Whether Solskjaer has pulled Cavani to one side for a chat is not known, but the striker seems very much on board with his manager’s project at United and prepared to fight when called upon.
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