Cavani Urged To Retire After Boca Boos

Edinson Cavani has been a name synonymous with elite goalscoring for over a decade, but the sun may finally be setting on one of the most prolific careers in modern football.

The 39-year-old, currently plying his trade with Argentinian giants Boca Juniors, has been hit with a blunt ultimatum to hang up his boots. Once the darling of Old Trafford and a hero in Naples and Paris, the Uruguayan is now finding the twilight of his career increasingly arduous as form and fitness continue to fail him in South America.

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.