Edinson Roberto Cavani Gómez (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈeðinsoŋ kaˈβani]; born 14 February 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Argentine Primera División club Boca Juniors.

After his breakthrough at the 2007 South American Youth Championship, several big teams were reportedly interested in signing Cavani, including Juventus and Milan.

He then started his Serie A tenure with Napoli scoring a controversial goal against Fiorentina after just seven minutes, with replays showing the ball landing on the line.

[22] Cavani's partnership with fellow forwards Ezequiel Lavezzi and Marek Hamšík led the Italian sporting media to dub them "The Three Tenors" after the famous singing group of the same name.

On 15 December, Cavani netted a 92nd-minute goal against Steaua București to help his team to a 1–0 win and progress beyond the group stage of the Europa League.

[29][30] On 22 November, Cavani scored both goals in the match winning brace 2–1 at home against Manchester City in the Champions League, leaving Napoli in pole position to follow Bayern Munich into the knockout stage.

On 21 December, Cavani netted a brace in Napoli's 6–1 thrashing of Genoa, helping the Azzurri finish 2011 strong and end the first half of the season in sixth place.

[40] A month later, on 26 September, Cavani scored a mesmerising hat-trick against Lazio to maintain Napoli's undefeated start to the Serie A season in a 3–0 win.

[41] On 8 November, Cavani scored all four goals, including a half-volley from outside the box and a tremendous free kick, as Napoli came back from 2–1 down to defeat Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 4–2 in the group stage of the Europa League.

[42] Cavani scored a late penalty in the 94th minute to secure a 2–1 victory over Swedish side AIK on 22 November, sending Napoli through to the next round of the Europa League.

[44] On 6 January 2013, Cavani netted a perfect hat-trick as Napoli thumped Roma 4–1, gaining ground in the race for the league title as champions Juventus fell to a shock win.

[45] Cavani finished the season as leading Serie A goalscorer, with 29 goals, six ahead of Udinese striker Antonio Di Natale in second.

[46] Towards the end of the season, reports emerged that Cavani would leave Napoli, with Chelsea, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid all believed to be interested.

[49] On 23 June, Napoli club president Aurelio De Laurentiis revealed that Cavani's reported £53 million "buyout clause expires" on 10 August 2013.

[50] On 16 July 2013, Cavani joined French champions Paris Saint-Germain on a five-year contract,[51] for a fee believed to be around €64 million,[52] making it the sixth largest transfer in history, at the time.

The reported sum made Cavani the record signing in French football, breaking Radamel Falcao's €60 million move to Monaco earlier in the summer, and saw him link up with former Napoli teammate Ezequiel Lavezzi in Paris.

[57] On 2 March, after missing a month of the season with a thigh injury, Cavani scored on his return to the team in a 2–0 win over Le Classique rivals Marseille at the Parc des Princes.

[62] On 11 April, he scored two goals as a second-half substitute for Lavezzi as PSG defeated Bastia 4–0 to win the 2015 Coupe de la Ligue Final.

[64] With the title retained, PSG sealed a domestic treble on 30 May when Cavani headed the only goal of the game – his 31st in all competitions that season – to defeat Auxerre in the Coupe de France final.

[80] On 4 November, Cavani's goals in a 5–0 win at Angers made him only the third player to score 100 times in two of Europe's five best leagues, after Ibrahimović and Gonzalo Higuaín.

[87] On 13 June, PSG's sporting director Leonardo revealed that Cavani would be leaving the club at the end of the Champions League campaign in August, alongside his teammate Thiago Silva.

On 5 October 2020, Cavani joined Premier League club Manchester United on a one-year deal with an option to extend for a further year.

[102] On 26 May, he scored the equalising goal in a 1–1 draw against Villarreal in the Europa League Final; however, Manchester United lost eventually on penalties, despite Cavani netting his spot kick in the shoot-out.

In January 2007, Cavani was selected to join the Uruguay national under-20 team to play in the 2007 South American Youth Championship in Paraguay.

[113] The same year on 22 June, in the final match of the group stage of the 2010 World Cup, Cavani set-up a goal for Luis Suárez in a 1–0 victory over Mexico.

[130] Internet coverage included Goal.com,[131] Business Insider,[132] ESPNFC,[133] Bleacher Report[134] The World Game,[135] The Huffington Post,[136] and Dirty Tackle.

[149] On 16 June, Cavani scored "an acrobatic bicycle-kick" in a 4–0 win over Ecuador in the team's opening group match of the tournament;[150] this was his first goal ever in the Copa América.

[151] In the quarter-finals against Peru on 29 June, he had a goal disallowed by VAR for offside in regulation time; following a 0–0 draw, the match went to a penalty shoot-out.

[154][155][156][157][158] Possessing an excellent first touch, intelligent movement off the ball, and clinical finishing, he is a well-rounded striker,[159][160][161] who is known for his ability to score impressive goals, both with his head and with his feet, and for his tireless work-rate and energy across the pitch, as well as his willingness to track back and help his team defensively; moreover, he is an athletic player, who is also strong in the air, and who has a penchant for scoring from acrobatic goals.

[168][169] However, despite being a prolific player, and having a reputation as one of the best strikers of his generation,[157][161][170][171][172][173] he has been accused at times in the media of missing an excessive number of chances, and has also been criticised on occasion for his performances in important matches.