Edinson Cavani vs Neymar Jr. and other rivalries in football

Edinson Cavani is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a centre forward for Premier League Club Manchester United. Let’s have a look at his famous rivalries.

Edinson Cavani in a file photo; Credit: Manchester United Twitter
By annirudh bhalla | May 9, 2022 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Edinson Cavani is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a center forward for Manchester United. The 35-year-old striker began his playing days with Danubio in Montevideo. He then moved to Italy and spent his Serie A days playing for Palermo and afterwards Napoli. It was here that Cavani caught the eyes of the world as a player known for his clinical finishing which also enabled him to win the Golden Boot in Serie A with Napoli. Nicknamed, ‘El Matador’, Cavani transferred to Paris Saint-Germain in 2013 for a then record signing in French football history. Manchester United caught the signing of Cavani in 2020 on a free transfer.

Career Achievements

Alongside various trophies in his club career like multiple Ligue 1 titles, Cavani also played a major role in helping Uruguay winning the 2011 Copa America title. He was also the top of the scoring charts in the 2018 CONMEBOL World Cup Qualification campaign with 10 goals. Cavani also holds the prestigious record of being PSG’s highest goal scorer of all time. Known as the ‘Poacher Extraordinaire’, Cavani possesses extraordinary strength and agility, which enables him to make the most out of the chances he gets. Cavani is often labelled as the perfect modern-day striker with a tall and lean figure allowing him to being a dominant figure in the air. Capable of playing in multiple attacking positions, Cavani also enjoys the skill of creating space for his fellow attackers which makes him a potent option in a 2-striker formation. Let’s have a look at his famous rivalries.

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Edinson Cavani vs Neymar Jr.

The famous feud between the two South Americans happened in 2017. The occasion was a fixture against Lyon in Ligue 1. The pair had an argument over who should proceed to take the penalty awarded to PSG. The tensions between the two superstars were pretty evident on the pitch. Finally, it was the Uruguayan who took the penalty and missed it. It was reported that the two players had to be separated during the dressing game, further highlighting the issues between them. This was certainly not how the Paris club would have wanted their new era to have started having produced a historic transfer window preceding the 2017/18 season. The tensions between the two stars didn’t really settle down and in 2020 Cavani admitted that he and Neymar didn’t go along very well owing to the different interests they had.

Edinson Cavani vs Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani rivalry dates back to the time when both the strikers used to be teammates at Paris Saint-Germain between 2013 and 2016. Naturally, there were debates as to who should be the starting striker for the French club. Though, the two played a big part in a very successful period for the club. However, on personal terms, it wasn’t such smooth sailing. Ibrahimovic’s former teammate, Michael Ciani had stated that the Swede had admitted that he never really got along with Cavani. The situation had reportedly led to two sides being created in the PSG camp and the relations weren’t really the best between the two.  

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Edinson Cavani vs Luis Suarez

Cavani and Suarez have been the pillars of Uruguayan football for years now. Having the same age of 35 and coming from the same city, Salto, naturally the two centre forwards have been paired-up against each other for quite sometime now. Although, both have always put their debates and personal rivalry aside while playing for their national team, the sense of competition has always been there. The former Barcelona man has enjoyed a much more celebrated career both on individual and collective grounds while Cavani has tasted success in different countries making him a much more versatile player.