Edinson Cavani spent two years at Manchester United (Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)

Former Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera has revealed the role he played in Edinson Cavani’s move to Old Trafford.

The Spaniard spent five years at the Theatre of Dreams following his move from Athletic Bilbao and he was a fans’ favourite during his stint in the north-west.

Playing under Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and lastly Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Herrera won over supporters with his spirited displays and for memorable performances against Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea.

Herrera controversially decided to leave United in 2019 for Paris Saint-Germain when he alleges they failed to offer him a new contract.

It was in the French capital that Herrera became a team-mate and a close friend of Cavani.

The Uruguayan was coming to the end of his time with the Ligue 1 giants and he had several offers from around the world in the summer of 2020, including from Atletico Madrid and Boca Juniors.

Herrera was Cavani’s team-mate in Paris (Photo by Aurelien Meunier – PSG/PSG via Getty Images)

But Cavani opted to join United after Herrera urged Solskjaer to push for the deal and told the striker that he would not reject moving to Old Trafford.

‘After [leaving United] I have kept in contact. When Cavani went to Manchester, I was with him in Paris [beforehand] and when I spoke with Ole I said “you have to sign this guy, he is a player who is going to give everything for you, for the club, he is a Manchester United player”‘.

‘And also Cavani, he had some options and I told him that there is no better option than United. It is true that the pandemic killed the Cavani moment because he was doing great before the pandemic.

‘But I think he did good for the club and, yes, Ole, all the memories that I have with him, they are great.’

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Cavani enjoyed a brilliant debut campaign at the Theatre of Dreams, scoring 17 times in 39 appearances.

He was persuaded to stay for a second term at the club, despite yearning to return to South America.

But his second season at United ended horribly, with injuries limiting Cavani to just 20 appearances and yielding just two goals.

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