Edinson Cavani is done with Boca Juniors. The 39-year-old Uruguayan striker and the Argentine club have agreed to tear up his contract, and the reason comes down to his body just not cooperating anymore.
According to reports out of Argentina, Cavani has been dealing with serious back problems — severe lumbago and a herniated disc — that have kept him mostly sidelined for months. Surgery earlier this season was supposed to fix it. It didn’t.
The former Manchester United and Valencia forward has made only two appearances in recent months. For a guy who built his career on relentless movement and those lung-busting runs into space, being stuck on the sideline with a back that won’t cooperate has been brutal.
Cavani’s Boca nightmare
This was supposed to be different. Cavani joined Boca Juniors with fanfare, the kind of signing that gets people talking in Buenos Aires. A legend of the game, still capable of moments of brilliance, coming to play in one of the most passionate environments in world football.
But the reality has been a grind. The back issues started early and never really let up. He tried to push through, got the surgery, did the rehab. Nothing stuck. The club and the player eventually realized they were just spinning their wheels.
Cavani’s camp was quick to shut down any talk of retirement though. A representative told local media, “He feels good and he is looking forward to it. With this cancellation, it is not that he is retiring.” The message is clear: he still wants to play. But wherever he goes next has to be a place that can actually manage his fitness properly.
What’s next for Cavani?
So what does a 39-year-old striker with a bad back and a history of elite-level play do now? It’s not an easy question. The European ship has likely sailed. A return to South America seems unlikely after this. Maybe a move to a league with a slower pace and more time between games — somewhere in the Middle East or even back in Uruguay to finish where he started.
Cavani’s time at Manchester United was genuinely good for a while. That first season, he was the veteran presence that young team needed. The 40-yard lob against Fulham in front of actual fans for the first time post-pandemic. The brace to flip the Southampton game. He was a proper striker, the kind of center-forward that makes everything around him click. But his second season got buried by Ronaldo’s return and his own body starting to fail him.
Now he’s in the weird phase where his mind still believes he can do it but his body keeps saying no. The next move will tell us a lot about whether he can find a way to make it work or if this is just the slow wind-down of a brilliant career.
One other note: Cavani is the second former United player to leave Boca in recent weeks. Ander Herrera also confirmed his departure. Two guys who were part of that United rebuild under Solskjaer, now both moving on from Argentina for different reasons.
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