Football
Mark Rodden 8y

Edinson Cavani can fill void left by Zlatan Ibrahimovic exit - PSG president

Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has backed striker Edinson Cavani to replace the departing Zlatan Ibrahimovic next season.

Ibrahimovic, 34, is leaving the Ligue 1 champions this summer and he signed off with a brace in a 4-2 win over Marseille in the Coupe de France final on Saturday.

That brought Ibrahimovic's club-record tally to 156 goals in his four seasons in France as PSG completed a clean sweep of domestic trophies for the second year in a row.

The Sweden captain is yet to reveal where he will be headed next, but has most recently been linked with moves to Manchester United in the Premier League and one of several Major League Soccer franchises in the United States.

Despite often playing on the wing, Cavani still managed to score 25 times in all competitions this season including once in the weekend win at the Stade de France.

The Uruguay international, 29, has been linked with a move to Atletico Madrid but Al-Khelaifi feels that Cavani can help PSG win the Champions League next season.

"Don't forget that we already have a great attacker at the club -- Edinson Cavani," Al-Khelaifi told RMC, when asked who could replace Ibrahimovic.

"Our objective is to win trophies -- I hope that next year it will be the Champions League.

"That's our big objective -- our dream. We're going to try to do it... we're close."

For his part, former Napoli forward Cavani does not consider himself a replacement for Ibrahimovic but is planning to respect his contract with PSG.

"I'm not the successor of anyone," he told Italian journalists. "I'm Edinson Cavani. Ibrahimovic is Ibrahimovic.

"I'm here to give the best of myself, like I've done since the first day I arrived here."

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