Background and career
Edinson Roberto Cavani Gómez (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈeðinsoŋ kaˈβani]; Italian: [kaˈvaːni]; born 14 February 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker. Nicknamed "El Matador" (The Bullfighter), he is regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation. He is known for his off the ball movement, work ethic, and finishing. Cavani is one of the few players to have scored 100 goals in two of Europe's big five leagues. Cavani began his career playing for Danubio in Montevideo, where he played for two years, before moving to Italian side Palermo in 2007. In 2010, Cavani signed for Napoli, who signed him on an initial loan deal before buying him for a total fee of €17 million. He helped them win the Coppa Italia in 2012 and established himself as one of the best players in Serie A, finishing as the Serie A top scorer in the 2012–13 season. In mid-2013, Cavani joined French club Paris Saint-Germain for a reported €64 million, at the time the most expensive signing in French football history, and went on to be one of their most important players. Although Cavani was frequently deployed on the left wing in a 4–3–3 due to Zlatan Ibrahimović's presence, he scored decisive goals in the 2014 Coupe de la Ligue final and the 2015 and 2016 Coupe de France final. After Ibrahimović left in 2016, Cavani returned to a centre-forward role. Despite PSG losing the Ligue 1 title in 2016–17, he scored 35 league goals and was named Ligue 1 Player of the Year. In 2017–18, he became the club's all-time top goalscorer at the time and finished as the league's top goalscorer for a second consecutive season as PSG reclaimed the Ligue 1 title. In total, he won six Ligue 1 titles. In 2020, Cavani signed with Manchester United before signing for Valencia in 2022 and Argentine club Boca Juniors in the following year. Cavani scored on his Uruguay debut against Colombia in 2008, and went on to earn 136 caps and score 58 international goals, only behind strike partner Luis Suárez among Uruguayan internationals. He participated in ten major international tournaments: four FIFA World Cups (2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022), five Copas América (2011, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2021), and one FIFA Confederations Cup (2013). Cavani scored at the 2010 World Cup to help Uruguay to fourth place in the tournament, and in 2011 was part of the Uruguay squad that won a record fifteenth Copa América title. He finished as the CONMEBOL 2018 World Cup qualification top scorer with ten goals. He was awarded the Golden Foot in 2018 for his achievements in football.
After his breakthrough at the 2007 South American Youth Championship, several big teams were reportedly interested in signing Cavani, including Juventus and Milan. On 29 January 2007, however, Palermo chairman Maurizio Zamparini announced the signing of the promising Uruguayan. The bid was officially confirmed on 31 January for €4.475 million. Cavani made his debut on 11 March 2007 in a home league match against Fiorentina, coming on in the 55th minute with his team 1–0 down and scoring an impressive equaliser only 15 minutes later, a goal reminiscent of Marco van Basten's strike in the 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final. In his second season with the Rosanero, Cavani found himself fighting for a first team place with Fabrizio Miccoli and Amauri. After Amauri's departure to Juventus in June 2008, Cavani cemented his place in the starting line-up, forming a striking partnership with Fabrizio Miccoli and scoring a total 14 goals in the 2008–09 season, earning the nickname "El Matador" due to his composure in front of goal. He retained his place for the 2009–10 season under new boss Walter Zenga, and also under successor Delio Rossi, being instrumental in the team's successful run in Serie A which took Palermo to European qualification and potential qualification to the UEFA Champions League with two games remaining. In April 2010, he signed a new contract with Palermo valid to June 2014.
In July 2010, Cavani signed for Napoli. The transfer, however, was a loan of €5 million plus an option/obligation to buy outright for €12 million, which made the total fee €17 million. After debuting for Napoli as a substitute in the previous game, Cavani scored twice in his first start, as Napoli beat Elfsborg in the UEFA Europa League 2–0 and qualified for the main tournament. He then started his Serie A tenure with Napoli scoring a controversial goal against Fiorentina after just seven minutes, with replays showing the ball landing on the line. Cavani also scored on his home debut against Bari before adding a late winner against Sampdoria, meaning he had scored in his first four competitive matches with Napoli. On 26 September, Cavani came on as a late replacement with 30 minutes left in a game against Cesena which Napoli was losing 1–0. After assisting the equalising goal, he went on to score two more, with the scoreline finishing at 4–1. That meant Cavani shared the lead as top scorer in the league alongside Internazionale's Samuel Eto'o. Cavani's partnership with fellow forwards Ezequiel Lavezzi and Marek Hamšík led the Italian sporting media to dub them "The Three Tenors" after the famous singing group of the same name. On 15 December, Cavani netted a 92nd-minute goal against Steaua București to help his team to a 1–0 win and progress beyond the group stage of the Europa League. In the first match, which was held on Romanian soil, he had scored an equalising goal in the 97th minute. On 9 January 2011, Cavani scored a hat-trick during a 3–0 win over Juventus, the third goal coming by way of a diving header. On 30 January, Cavani scored another hat-trick, this time in a 4–0 win over Sampdoria. Cavani continued his fine form scoring a brace against Roma, with Napoli winning 2–0. On 20 March, Cavani scored another brace against Cagliari in a 2–1 win. This win kept them within three points of leaders Milan with eight games left. On 3 April, Cavani scored yet another hat-trick in a 4–3 comeback win over Lazio, having been 2–0 and 3–2 down during the game. He also became the highest league goalscorer in a single season in Napoli's history, netting 25 goals in Serie A. On 8 May, in a 2–1 away loss against Lecce, he received a red card for two bookable offences. He sarcastically applauded the referee after the decision and was handed a two-match ban for the action. As Napoli only had two more games of the season, it meant that his season was over and that he would not be able to regain his top position in the Serie A scoring charts, as Antonio Di Natale had surpassed him with 26 goals. Cavani signed a new five-year contract on 19 May, keeping him at Napoli until 2016.
On 14 September, Cavani scored the opener in Napoli's first game of their Champions League campaign, a 1–1 away draw at Manchester City. Four days later, on 18 September, he scored a hat-trick against Milan in Napoli's 3–1 home win. On 22 November, Cavani scored both goals in the match winning brace 2–1 at home against Manchester City in the Champions League, leaving Napoli in pole position to follow Bayern Munich into the knockout stage. On 26 November, Cavani scored a 94th-minute equaliser against Atalanta after Napoli went a goal down in the 64th minute through on-loan Napoli striker Germán Denis. On 21 December, Cavani netted a brace in Napoli's 6–1 thrashing of Genoa, helping the Azzurri finish 2011 strong and end the first half of the season in sixth place.
On 17 February 2012, Cavani scored two goals against Fiorentina, helping Napoli go in fifth place ahead of Internazionale. On 21 February, Cavani scored the second goal against Chelsea in the Champions League round of 16 first leg in Naples. He also provided the assists for both of Ezequiel Lavezzi's goals that game. Napoli subsequently went on to win this game 3–1. Following Napoli's exit from the Champions League at the hands of Chelsea, Cavani scored two goals against Udinese in the last ten minutes to earn a much-needed draw to keep Napoli in the hunt for the last Champions League qualifying spot. A few days later, he converted a fantastic counter-attack against Siena to book Napoli a place in the Coppa Italia final. On 21 April, he celebrated his 200th career league appearance by scoring in a 2–0 win against Novara. Cavani finished the league season with 23 goals, tied for third on the goal scoring charts with Udinese striker Antonio Di Natale. On 20 May, Cavani scored a penalty against Juventus in the 2012 Coppa Italia final at the Stadio Olimpico, Rome, which Napoli won 2–0. Cavani finished the tournament as the top goalscorer, with five goals. Cavani's first goal of the Serie A season came on 26 August, netting the final goal of Napoli's 3–0 defeat of former club Palermo. A month later, on 26 September, Cavani scored a mesmerising hat-trick against Lazio to maintain Napoli's undefeated start to the Serie A season in a 3–0 win. On 8 November, Cavani scored all four goals, including a half-volley from outside the box and a tremendous free kick, as Napoli came back from 2–1 down to defeat Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 4–2 in the group stage of the Europa League. Cavani scored a late penalty in the 94th minute to secure a 2–1 victory over Swedish side AIK on 22 November, sending Napoli through to the next round of the Europa League. Cavani was the last player ever to score on the Råsunda Stadium which was the stadium that hosted the 1958 FIFA World Cup final. On 6 January 2013, Cavani netted a perfect hat-trick as Napoli thumped Roma 4–1, gaining ground in the race for the league title as champions Juventus fell to a shock win. Cavani finished the season as leading Serie A goalscorer, with 29 goals, six ahead of Udinese striker Antonio Di Natale in second. Towards the end of the season, reports emerged that Cavani would leave Napoli, with Chelsea, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid all believed to be interested. On 27 May 2013, however, he told that he was not thinking of moving, saying, "Real Madrid, Chelsea and [Manchester] City are interested in me? I just think about Napoli." Nonetheless, he continued, "If an important offer were to come in, I will talk with president [Aurelio] De Laurentiis". He then paid tribute to his time in Italy, saying, "I'm fine in Italy, I have grown as a man there and as a player with the Serie A experience". Cavani was asked about the interest Chelsea and Manchester City took in him, saying, "I don't know if they made an offer for me, I just know that to be coached by someone like [Man City manager] Manuel Pellegrini or [Chelsea manager] José Mourinho would always be a pleasure". On 23 June, Napoli club president Aurelio De Laurentiis revealed that Cavani's reported £53 million "buyout clause expires" on 10 August 2013.
On 16 July 2013, Cavani joined French champions Paris Saint-Germain on a five-year contract, for a fee believed to be around €64 million, making it the sixth largest transfer in history, at the time. The reported sum made Cavani the record signing in French football, breaking Radamel Falcao's €60 million move to Monaco earlier in the summer, and saw him link up with former Napoli teammate Ezequiel Lavezzi in Paris.
