New Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani has confessed he nearly quit football this summer after he and his girlfriend battled Covid-19.
Cavani signed with the Red Devils as a free agent on Monday, joining the club on an initial one-year contract with the option of a further 12 months.
The 33-year-old is set to earn €11 million (£10m/$13m) per season at Old Trafford, with a potential further €2m in performance-related add-ons and a €4m signing-on bonus.
After spending seven seasons with PSG, Cavani left the French side and had offers from clubs all around the globe, but he nearly left the game behind entirely after a health scare.
“Your family's health comes first," Cavani told Argentine radio program Dos de Punta. "Of course I considered the idea of quitting football. It is true that I managed that option and that possibility to stop playing and stay in the countryside, dedicate myself to my life in the countryside.
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"We have suffered through the coronavirus with my family and with my girlfriend. The truth is that it was bad because of the fear that it awakens. Thank God we recovered well and evolved well and here we are."
Cavani went on to discuss the period of uncertainty that he experienced when seasons across Europe started and he still had yet to sign with a new club. The Uruguayan said that although it took some time, he is happy to have ended up at Old Trafford eventually.
“It is normal that anxiety begins to enter your mind," Cavani continued. "The leagues had started to compete and of course, I wanted to have a team.
"There are things that are not given because they should not be given. I am of the idea that in life things come when they have to come and sometimes, no matter how much you want something, if it doesn't have to happen, it doesn't happen.
"There was a lot of uncertainty and anxiety. Days began to pass and I saw my family, friends and everyone wanting to know where I was going to play. We are here, happy with the decision and now I want to put on the shirt."