'He has to stop' - Edinson Cavani brutally told to retire as ex Man Utd star is booed in Argentina

The situation reached a boiling point during Boca's recent 0-0 draw with Racing Club on Friday. Cavani, making his first start since September, was subjected to boos from his own supporters before being excluded entirely from the squad for the subsequent cup clash against Gimnasia Chivilcoy on Monday. Since joining the club in August 2023, the goals have noticeably dried up for the veteran marksman. After a respectable 2024, his output plummeted to just five goals in 2025, and the 2026 campaign has been a nightmare of rehabilitation, with the striker managing only two appearances following a lengthy injury lay-off.

The vocal criticism has not been limited to the terraces. Oscar Ruggeri, an icon of Argentinian football who won the 1986 World Cup and enjoyed title success with Boca, has urged Cavani to protect his legacy by stepping away now. Ruggeri expressed his dismay at seeing a player of Cavani's standing being treated with such disdain by the public. Speaking to Marca, the former defender was uncompromising in his assessment of the striker's current situation and physical capabilities as he nears the age of 40.

"He has to stop playing," Ruggeri stated flatly. "It's a sin that this star is insulted in that way [booed] with the immense career he has. I don't know him, we met two or three times, but it hurts me to see him. It's tough to play in Argentina these days at 40. For me, he's not making the decision [to retire] because he wants to keep trying to turn things around and leave."

The statistics paint a grim picture of Cavani's physical decline. Since February 2023, the forward has suffered 13 separate injuries, causing him to miss a total of 36 matches - roughly equivalent to an entire league season. His recent struggles have focussed on persistent lower back pain, which has kept him sidelined for much of the current campaign. While he briefly returned as a substitute against Platense this month, it is clear that the explosive athleticism that once defined his game is a thing of the past.

Ruggeri believes these physical setbacks are a clear sign that the body can no longer keep up with the demands of the professional game. The World Cup winner expanded on his concerns in January, noting: "I know he wants to turn the situation around and wants to do well, that he came to Boca and succeeded. But he has to seriously think about what he can do because his body is struggling. He plays a little while, maybe misses a goal, and I see some people laughing, others teasing him, and I think he is so great that he has to make the decision himself, not us. He has to make the decision that if his body can't take it anymore, this is as far as he goes."

With 24 major trophies and 458 career goals for club and country, Cavani has nothing left to prove. He previously announced his retirement in December, appearing to acknowledge the end of a 20-year odyssey that peaked with a legendary stint at Paris Saint-Germain. However, the Uruguayan reversed that decision, fuelled by a competitive fire that has seen him continue into his 40th year. Whether he can emulate the longevity of former teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic remains to be seen, but the pressure to exit gracefully is mounting.

Ruggeri warned that the current path only serves to invite more ridicule. "The career he had, what more is it going to give him? It's saying this is as far as he goes. He is not in debt. He came, tried to do it, but physically he couldn't," Ruggeri concluded. "But when these things happen, notice that every time he's about to start, something else happens. These are signals that football is giving him, that you have to make the most difficult decision we football players have, which is to say this is as far as I go."