Manchester United Striker Issues Powerful Cristiano Ronaldo Challenge

A veteran Manchester United striker is not backing down on competing for playing time against Cristiano Ronaldo.

Edinson Cavani has earned the trust of Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after bagging a total of 17 goals in his maiden season with the Red Devils.

However, things took a huge turnaround when Ronaldo made his Manchester United return and took over Cavani’s place as the club’s primary center-forward.

Ronaldo’s arrival soon suggested the narrative that Cavani is not pleased with his playing time being cut to make way for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

Lifting the lid on the subject, the Uruguayan himself admitted that he and Ronaldo are fighting for the position, and he’s not being dejected by the fact that he’s competing against a bigger name.

"Those are things that happen, a lot of debate is created, but football is football and you don’t have to turn it around too much, it’s not because one or the other is there,” Cavani recently told El Observador. "The important thing is to be prepared for when it’s your turn, you always want to play, [Ronaldo] he wants to be there forever, but that is not going to change my way of thinking or acting."

"In football, you have to always be ready," he continued. "It’s one of the keys at the top level. Sometimes you play more, sometimes you play less, managers make decisions, but that doesn’t stop the work to always be competitive. The league has just started and I have needed to be, not quite like last year, but I’m there to be a part of it."

Solskjaer, on the other hand, acknowledged the fact that there’s a need to tactfully “manage the players’ workload,” suggesting that there will be games that Cavani, Ronaldo or another striker will be deployed to start.

“You make decisions throughout a long, long season and you’ve got to manage the players’ workload,” Solskjaer said when quizzed about dropping Ronaldo from his starting XI. “The decision was, for me, the correct one. Anthony Martial did well, scored a good goal, Edinson [Cavani, who also came in] needed minutes, he got an hour, could have had a goal, a great cross and a great chance for him. We have to make those decisions sometimes.”

“The target is exactly the same, it has to be the next game against West Ham, with the same mentality, commitment and after we will see but for me it is just one [match] at a time."