Edinson Cavani is a Uruguayan striker who is considered as one of the most prolific and lethal finishers of his generation. He recently signed for Manchester United on a free transfer after not having his contract renewed with PSG in a one year deal.
He has played in Uruguay with Danubio before moving to Italy with Palermo and Napoli where he established himself and then to France with Paris Saint Germain. His has a slender body, a ‘poacher’ style of finishing, is pacy and has a knack for finishing off counter attacking moves with ease and precision. He has been well known over South America and Europe for his ability to be aerial and for even being versatile enough to play across the final third. The number he racked up during his time with Napoli and Paris Saint Germain are no way short of being considered among the top 5 Uruguayan Strikers of all time along with his partner in crime, Luis Suarez and of course Diego Forlan. Cavani had been linked to Chelsea, Manchester City and also to Liverpool after his successful time at Napoli but the move could never materialize as the interest in him was not solid enough.
So without further ado, lets dive into some of the probably unknown facts you never knew about Edinson Cavani:
1. Owns an Italian Passport!
Edinson Roberto Cavani Gomez was born on 14th February 1987 in Salto, Uruguay to father, Luis Cavani and mother, Berta Gomez. He has two elder brothers who also play football, Christian Cavani and Walter Guglielmone who played for clubs in Uruguay, France, Mexico, Paraguay and even China.
Salto is a quick and hustling city in the northwestern part of the football loving country. His family heritage originates from Italy and hence Edinson holds and Italian Passport. His grandparents were from Maranello, the home of Ferrari, who then migrated to Argentina at first and then to the Uruguayan capital city of Montevideo. Cavani played football in the town with his brothers growing up and was always motivated to keep working hard by his ever-so determined parents who always made sure that Edinson “always had food and clothing”.
2. Early Days
Edinson used to play a lot of street football growing up and often used to get roughed up by others who were quite elder to him. He used to continue playing against them anyway and in some years he got them fetching the ball off the net. He learned the art of being socially selfless from his parents who used to help other kids who had some sort of physical problems. His parents used to work with them and Edinson tried to get his hands dirty with this.
When he turned 9, he joined Danubio Futbol club in Montevideo after lengthy discussions with his father who finally approved his move to the most successful youth footballing academy in the Uruguayan Capital City. After signing his first youth contract with an academy that had produced next gen stars like Alvaro Recoba and Diego Forlan, he gradually grew up the ranks after again having had to play against rookies elder to him. Then after a super successful South American Youth Championship, he broke through the first team and made his debut for the club. He scored 9 goals in 25 league games for Danubio and that attracted interest from Europe.
3. Palermo and European football
After fending off interest from AC Milan and Juventus, Palermo signed the Uruguayan talent from Danubio for a fee of 4.475 Million Euros. Club Chairman, Maurizio Zamparini played a massive part to bring the striker known for his flair and physical attributes to Italy. After a short period with the club reserve team, Cavani came off the bench in a home league game against rivals Fiorentina when Palermo trailed 0-1 on the scoreboard. He scored a goal only minutes later, one which would very easily remind you of the goal Van Basten scored in the UEFA Champions League final of 1988.
In his second season he played second fiddle to established strikers Fabrizio Miccoli and Amauri, who later departed for giants Juventus in the following season. In his final season with Palermo, he scored some of the most instrumental goals after notching up a healthy partnership with Miccoli upfront, helping Palermo secure European Football after finishing 5th.
4. Upscaling – Napoli
Napoli had an eye on Cavani and lodged up an official bid for the Uruguayan to sign him initially on loan for a season with an option/obligation to buy him for a fee of 12 million Euros. He scored twice off his first start and kept his outstanding ability to find the back of the net from difficult positions. He was a part of one of the most formidable attacks in Europe with Marek Hamsik and Argentian Ezequiel Lavezzi –collectively known as “The Three Tenors”.
Later that season he signed a 5 year contract as Napoli signed on a permanent deal. In 11-12, he helped the Azzurri win the Coppa Italia as he was the top scorer of the tournament. He scored an astonishing 33 goals in that season. His mesmerizing rise to being called as one of Europe’s top Players continued as he scored 38 goals in the 12-13 season. He was a part of the Serie A team of the season in all 3 years at the club.
5. Europe’s top Marksman and PSG Record Goal-scorer
Cavani moved to PSG for a then French Football record transfer fee of around 64 million Euros. He spent 6 seasons at the club where he scored a record breaking 200 goals in 301 appearances for Les Parisiens. He was arguably one of Europe’s top marksman and the target man won 6 Ligue 1 titles, 4 Coupe de France titles, 5 Coupe de La Ligue titles and also 4 Trophee des Champions titles in his time with PSG. Quite a huge cabinetry of Silverware!!
6. Nickname – ‘El Matador’
The Italian media has nicknamed Edinson Cavani as ‘El Matador’, which has the lteral translation to English as ‘The Bullfighter. Cavani’s ability to be super composed in front of goal earned him the name tag. He continued his outstanding finishing skills during his time at PSG and also maintained a really healthy assist ratio. Having played with some of world footballs top Strikers in Ezequiel Lavezzi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Luis Suarez and Neymar, Cavani has always been the team man through the years.
7. Has scored from his own half!
Cavani has represented the Uruguayan national team since the 2010 FIFA world cup in South Africa. While making his debut for the Uruguayan national team he scored off his own half in a 2-2 draw against Columbia after racing through a loose ball from an opposing corner kick. He won the 2011 Copa America with the Sky Blues (La Celeste) which had South America’s 3 most prolific strikers with Suarez, Forlan and Cavani. Him and Suarez have scored a combined total of 114 goals in the past 13 years. He finished as the top scorer of the 2018 CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers.
8. WAG – Jocelyn Burgardt and his daughter – India
Edinson Cavani is dating Jocelyn Burgardt who is a professional samba dancer. She met Edinson in the Parade in the city of Bella Union. The two have been together since 2015 and also have been living together in his house in Paris with two dogs, Sara and Lolo. He has a Daughter named India with Jocelyn. He was married to Maria soledad Cabris Yarrus, with whom he has 2 sons, Bautista and Lucas. He split from Maria in 2013 and rumor has it that he continues to pay her alimony of 25000 Euros monthly after speculation that he was having an affair with a woman named Maria Rosaria Ventrone.
9. Drives a Ferrari!
Edinson Cavani is a speedster both on and off the pitch. He drives some of the fastest cars to exist including a Ferrari during his time at PSG. He also owns a Range Rover. He loves family time and is also into shooting range if he is Uruguay. He loves hunting and is really good at it. He usually engages himself in shooting trips if he is in Uruguay with his father. He loves ballet dancing as well. Edinson posted this photo drinking a South American drink on his Social Media some time ago.
10. The Neymar Controversy!
It was in 2017 in a league game against Olympique Lyonnais, that Brazilian star Neymar and Cavani had a much heated argument on the pitch surrounding a penalty kick. It was Cavani who took it in the end only to fire the shot to the cross bar. The duo was seen having a really tense and heated argument on the pitch which the then PSG right back Dani Alves sorted. The duo had same sort of middle ground reached during the course of the following season when Neymar handed the penalty taking responsibilities to the Uruguayan striker. Nevertheless the relationship has never been the same!
11. Net worth and Salary
Edinson Cavani is set to earn a handsome 10 million Pounds a season at Manchester United during his one season at Old Trafford. He has an option to extend his stay in Manchester by one year is required as per the contract. He has a net worth of approximately 40 million dollars. He has a sponsorship deal with American sport-wear Giants Nike.
