We may never know if Cristiano Ronaldo’s return was a panic reaction to links with Manchester City, but there were very few fans who expected it to happen at the start of the summer.
From a playing point of view, he’s been treated as a returning hero and rightfully so after his first spell with the club, but it’s an all too familiar tale for Edinson Cavani.
The Uruguayan striker is a world-class player and could’ve been the face of many teams in Europe, but his time at PSG often saw him sidelined in favour of Ibrahimovic and then Neymar, while he’ll now play the backup role to Ronaldo this year.
For United, it makes sense to keep both around as they need more than one option and both Cavani and Ronaldo are getting older so will need some time to rest, but a report from Calciomercato has suggested that serious efforts were made to move him on during deadline day.
Both Barcelona and Atletico Madrid were contacted amid the Antoine Griezmann deal in case either side needed an alternative, while Juventus were also offered the chance to sign him but nothing happened.
The current situation looks ideal for the club but perhaps they were looking out for Cavani by trying to offer him one final move where he could’ve been a regular starter elsewhere, but he should still see plenty of playing time this year.