According to AS, Real Madrid have sounded out Paris Saint-Germain over a move for striker Edinson Cavani.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez needs a big name to replace Talisman Cristiano Ronaldo, who he sold to Juventus for €100m earlier this summer.
But Perez is finding that to be a difficult task as Cavani’s PSG team-mates Neymar and Kylian Mbappe are too expensive even for Madrid.
That has left Perez looking at the next level of player, where someone like Cavani would be a relatively cheaper option.
The 31-year-old outshone Ronaldo as he scored Uruguay’s two goals against Portugal to put them into the quarter-finals of the World Cup last month.
Cavani has been one of PSG’s most popular players since joining from Napoli in 2013 and continues to average around 34 goals a season. During PSG’s last campaign he netted 40 goals in all competitions.
Contracted in the French capital until 2020, Cavani has had to delicately raise the topic of a transfer to PSG chairman, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, with whom he has built a good relationship.
Nonetheless, the French champions have decided that they would be willing to let him go for less than £89 million, but it remains unclear as to whether Real Madrid would be able to meet his contract demands.
If Cavani moves to Real Madrid that would indicate that Karim Benzema is leaving also, as Cavani and Benzama are similar type players.
Cavani is an upgrade over Benzema. Since signing for Napoli in 2010, Cavani has averaged of 34.25 per season, while Benzema has averaged 23 goals, 11 less than Cavani.
Cavani then would be an upgrade for Real Madrid and get them 11 of the 50 goals that they lost when Ronaldo left. But he is not a replacement for Ronaldo, and that replacing CR7 is still something Perez need to do this summer.
