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PSG: Cavani, king of hearts

2020-06-14T09:55:07.897Z


Generous, simple and discreet, Edinson Cavani has not only scored goals in Paris, but also the hearts of the supporters and the history of the club.


It was expected, it's official: in an interview with JDD, Leonardo has confirmed that Edinson Cavani will leave PSG at the end of his contract, like Thiago Silva. After seven years of good and loyal service, the Matador leaves. A player apart in the history of the club and in the hearts of the supporters. Certainly, the native of Salto has always evolved in the shadow of the stars, Zlatan Ibrahimovic first, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé then. But the darling of the Parc des Princes is him. A love rating he owes to his goals, of course. 200, in 301 matches. Enough to make him the best scorer in PSG history, far ahead of "Ibra" (156 goals in 180 games) and Pedro Miguel Pauleta (109 goals in 211 games). Cavani has 22 titles in Red and Blue, including six in Ligue 1, five League Cups and four French Cups. Without forgetting a trophy for best player in the championship (2017) and two for top scorer (2017, 2018). Statistics and awards are not enough to explain the unconditional, sometimes irrational, love of the Park for the 33-year-old Uruguayan international, recruited in 2013 in Naples for € 64 million.

» READ ALSO - Leonardo formalizes the departures of Cavani and Thiago Silva

Edinson Cavani, it's 200 goals with PSGPanoramic

True to color, simple and discreet, simply human, Cavani has always shown respect for the institution. Although, perhaps not when he punched his fist on the table just before a quarter-final of the Champions League against Chelsea, in 2014 ... "Over time, it starts to be heavy, he dropped in the columns of L 'Team , about its positioning on the right. We'll see at the end of the season. I'm fine in Paris, but there are things that should be done differently. ” In terms of timing, we did better ... Finally, "Edi" had nevertheless taken his pain in patience ... two more years, the departure of Ibrahimovic in 2016 finally offering him the keys to the attack on Paris Saint-Germain, and the place it claimed at the peak. 

Cavani and Neymar: two rooms, two atmospheres

A year later, however, he saw Neymar and Mbappé land on the banks of the Seine. Not enough to question his positioning on the ground, but enough to downgrade it in the food chain of big cats of the red and blue attack ... A step back that the interested party did not immediately assimilate, as evidenced by his bickering with "Ney" about penalties. No matter: the most fervent Parisian supporters have always taken up the cause for the attaching Cavani to the detriment of the Brazilian, the latter never trying to win their hearts, his never having really left Barça. Two opposing universes, two personalities at opposite ends, two ways of seeing life and football. Although, the international Auriverde has put water in its wine this season, after ... having gone out of its way to leave Paris last summer. And we even saw Cavani and Neymar having fun like kids in February, on the anniversary of the Cavani / Icardi / Di Maria trio. Reconciled. "We have had little problems, as happens in any club, when you have important players. We showed everyone who threw shit at us that the team was more united than ever, ”says Angel Di Maria, via  L'Equipe .

A team that has never been more united than last March 11, to eliminate Dortmund in the lunar atmosphere of an empty Park inside and boiling outside. More often in the infirmary or on the bench than on the field since the start of the 2019-20 season, Cavani had finally overturned Mauro Icardi in the final stretch to start this meeting, the club's latest with nine titles. champion. Besides, the Matador, tired of waiting for his chance, almost left Paris for Atlético this winter. It was his choice. A "very difficult" moment for the interested party, who made against good fortune against the intransigence of "Leo" in front of the (weak) rojiblancos offers. The opportunity for Cavani to reach the symbolic bar of 200 achievements, on February 23, against the Girondins de Bordeaux (4-3). "It is a moment that sends you back to the kilometers that are behind you and that you have traveled to reach these 200 goals," he smiled, during one of his rare media interventions. 

» READ ALSO - Champions League: the Final 8 in Lisbon, it is confirmed

And the Matador to promise: "I will continue to give my maximum until my last day here". Generosity is also what capsized the stands of the Porte de Saint-Cloud. Generosity in the effort, generosity of his person. A warrior thirsty for goals, but never at the expense of the public good. How many times have we seen him come back to defend in position ... from right back, his long mane blowing in the wind. How many kilometers traveled, raked balloons. Working for others doesn't scare Cavani. It is even his trademark, his signature. And the class too, as when he was going to greet Mbappé, Presnel Kimpembe and Alphonse Areola in the locker room after the defeat of "his" Celeste against the Blues, in the quarterfinals of the last World Cup (1-0). A gentleman on and off the green rectangle. 

"The only way I can say thank you (to the supporters) is by giving the maximum, 100% on the field"

Edinson Cavani, February 23

"I can only thank the supporters for the warmth, the love they give us, that they give me, in difficult times as in moments of joy," he declared again in February, after his 200th Parisian goal . Thank you ! The only way I can say thank you is by giving the maximum, 100% on the ground. And it will be like that until the end. " In this case, the end is now near. Maybe not that much. Admittedly, Cavani's contract ends on June 30. But as he explained in the columns of the JDD , Leonardo hopes to be able to count on him in August, for the cup finals but also and above all for the Champions League, which will be played a priori in the form of a Final 8 in Lisbon. Ditto for the other players at the end of the contract who will leave, Layvin Kurzawa, Thomas Meunier, the mascot Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, and of course the future ex-captain, Thiago Silva. Then it will be up to Icardi to play, to ensure the succession ahead. And with the Argentine goal machine, poached at Inter Milan after a first season (on loan) with 20 goals in 31 games, Leonardo was probably not mistaken… 

Read also

  • PSG: Thiago Silva, a monument on departure

Source: lefigaro

All sports articles on 2020-06-14

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