Barcelona-linked Cavani wanted by Gremio following PSG departure

Brazilian outfit Gremio have gone public with their desire to sign veteran striker Edinson Cavani, who is currently a free agent.

The 33-year-old left Paris Saint-Germain when his contract expired in June, missing the Ligue 1 champions’ run to the final of the Champions League.

Cavani established himself as a leading poacher in Europe after first moving to Palermo in 2007 from Danubio, and Gremio president Romildo Bolzan Junio is now ready to launch an ambitious bid to take him back to South America, though he admits that the decision will be taken out of his hands if the experienced hitman wants to remain in the spotlight.

"He [Cavani's agent] didn't make a proposal. But in life, if you don't talk, you don't know anything," he told Hora do Consular.

"Suddenly, there is chemistry, something different, empathy, a desire, and then suddenly it happens.

“Rationally, if it were under normal circumstances, we would not have the slightest hope of signing this player.

“If he wants to play in Europe, he will have offers that are a thousand times greater than those a South American or Brazilian team can give him.

“Now, if it’s in his head, if it’s his idea or if it’s his desire that is to join a project that is closer to home, closer to his businesses and to Uruguay, I believe that he can sit down with us.

“I expect that he has this feeling and that he can talk to us a little more.”

Cavani has been linked with several clubs in Europe since his contract with PSG expired. He has reportedly been on the brink of joining Benfica twice before the deal broke down due to his salary demands, while he was also associated with Premier League new boys Leeds United.

In addition, there has been a suggestion he could go to Spain, with Atletico Madrid interested and Barcelona in need of a number nine.

He has already played in Italy and France, notably scoring 104 times in 138 matches over three years at Napoli before following that up with a highly successful spell at PSG.

At the Parc des Princes, he scored exactly 200 goals to surpass Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the club’s leading marksman. The highlight of his time at PSG was the 2016-17 campaign, when he scored 49 goals in 50 outings – a tally that ranks as the best he has managed in his career to date.