The Parisians have Ambitions of reaching the Best but they have Neglected to treat one of the heroes with the respect his Support has merited. When Edinson Cavani departs Paris Saint-Germain this month, he’ll do so with no entire worth ever having been reflected by his standing at the club.
The darling of the Parc des Princes — where he’s loved by the fans for his business, dedication and goal scoring — he’s received such love from the dugout, despite a prolific spell in France’s capital.
Initially, he had been shunted out to the wing as Zlatan Ibrahimovic played through the middle and, after a trio of uncomplaining years, he finally had the chance to make the place his own. His record in Napoli suggested goals are the net result and thus it proved, as he struck at about the rate of one per game when playing in his favoured role.
This was the confidence that PSG temporarily showed from the forwards, they could require the unfashionable Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting as their backup alternative for an entire year before they swooped for Inter outcast Mauro Icardi in the summertime, with the loanee hitting the floor so successfully that Cavani was all but frozen out.
Such an unceremonious departure is unbefitting of a man who captained PSG, sacrificed three decades of his career by playing out of position for them and that renders as their record scorer, having found the net on 198 occasions.
“It is hard not to play when you are the idol of the fans and if you are on the pitch, you score,” Pedro Pauleta — who found himself in a similar position to Cavani throughout the 2007-08 season — informed Ligue 1’s official site.
“I expect that everything pans out well for the club and for himbecause he deserves to complete his period with PSG well.”
But while the Parisians seem to have granted Cavani’s desire to leave, it isn’t a fantastic style for PSG to have this icon pushing to depart.
“We don’t need to eliminate a player, but it might happen, that is the fact,” Tuchel clarified on the eve of Wednesday’s Coupe de la Ligue semi-final against Reims — a game that Cavani will miss formally because of groin injury.
“It isn’t a simple situation for him. I am quite happy he stays positive and professional. If a person is injured, we’ve got an outstanding replacement.”
And there’s the crux of Cavani’s problem: he will only be considered to play with if Icardi is inaccessible. In Tuchel’s head, the Uruguayan has been relegated to the role of luxury substitute.
Little wonder, then, he has been fed up with being treated as a second-class citizen with a side he spent the peak years of his career serving in a first-class method. Having to ask a transfer only six months at the end of the time in Paris is the last insult.
A move to Spain, where Atletico Madrid have made a bid of $10m for the wantaway ahead, would seem the most plausible outcome for Cavani.
PSG are demanding more cash but Cavani’s desire to proceed into the Wanda Metropolitano is clear. First-team football would certainly await at goal-shy Atleti, while Diego Simeone is a huge fan of the participant’s relentless running.
Equally, however, Chelsea director Frank Lampard has spoken highly of the former Palermo hitman: “I played against him and I enjoyed his mentality, his attitude and of course his target stats speak for themselves.”
The Blues have held discussions with PSG, however, have, so far, stopped short of creating a formal bid for Cavani.
Given he’s never played in the Premier League and is very likely to find England more difficult to accommodate than Spain because of the language barrier, it’s doubtful.
It’s an unhappy position for the participant to find himself, but it reflects badly, also, on PSG, that is set to usher among their best servants of the contemporary era from the club via the rear door.
For a club desperate to acquire a reputation among the best in Europe, this is no way to behave towards a participant who was nothing but a worthy ambassador through the years.
All parties appear set to lose from the present situation, though most of PSG, whose very status as a European superpower appears set to be tested in the months ahead.
Neymar and Kylian Mbappe have been linked with moves to Spain, while the Choupo-Moting is out of contract and Icardi isn’t sure to remain once his loan deal expires in the summer.
Sporting manager Leonardo is known for his nous in the transport market, but losing Cavani in these unpleasant situation threatens to be the beginning of a wholesale dismantling of the offensive armada assembled at Parc des Princes.
Some may argue, however, that’s just what a club that treats its heroes in such a disrespectful manner deserves.
