How could the departure of Cavani have divided the PSG ultras so much?

Cavani and PSG, it's over.

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• Idol of the Park for many years, Edinson Cavani left the club in a particular context and without being able to say goodbye to the supporters. 

• If he will not be there on Tuesday with Manchester, the Uruguayan still left internal consequences among the PSG ultras, divided on the attitude to adopt vis-à-vis the Matador. 

The news fell on Monday at the end of the day and it almost turned all our plans upside down before the first Champions League match between PSG and Manchester United on Tuesday.

The former idol of the Parc des Princes Edinson Cavani has not made the trip with his new teammates and will therefore not find the enclosure that has elevated him to the rank of demigod in recent years.

Why then talk about the Matador if he stayed in the North of England to unpack his boxes?

And then finally, on reflection, the presence or not of the Uruguayan in Paris on Tuesday evening does not change anything in the case.

It is first and foremost a matter of supporters.

Adored by the Parisian ultras as much for his grinta and his side close to the people as for his messy golazos, the cowboy of Salto saw his popularity drop in a snap after his decision not to extend for two months his lease in the capital to play the Final 8 with his future-ex-teammates.

Not to mention the radio silence established by Edinson Cavani and his entourage who, from May to October, did not have a word in the direction of those who had loved him so much.

Obviously that annoys.

Romain Mabille, the former leader of the Ultras Paris Collective in the columns of Le

 : “Would we like to pay tribute to him?

To be able to pay tribute to him, he would have to be ok already, come to the Park, and have contact with him.

But there, he closed the doors, he isolated himself and does not communicate.

Difficult to pay tribute to someone who is not there and who does not want… ”

We loved each other so much

An Arab proverb says that it is from trust that betrayal is born.

And confidence, the Ultras gave him a lot if we are willing to forget the first difficult months between the two parties, when Cavani, exiled on one side to make way for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, was harvesting occasion after occasion and struggled to justify the price of his transfer (65 million euros from Napoli).

But over time, by dint of patience, a special relationship has been woven between the Virage Auteuil and the Uruguayan, to the point of making Cavani the absolute idol of the ultras, official song and flag in his effigy at the support.

So obviously, "The departure of Cavani, we saw it badly because we have a real relationship with him", recently confirmed Romain Mabille among our colleagues at RMC.

So badly that the members of the CUP did not manage to agree on the attitude to adopt vis-à-vis the player.

And the question of homage crystallized positions and gave rise to some tensions.

Romain Mabille, always: “The association is divided in two: half of the people ignore his hasty departure, which for me is a lack of respect, and want to pay tribute to him.

The other party misunderstood the reasons for his departure and his lack of communication.

It all depends on him, if he says goodbye things will certainly be different.

"A banner will finally be deployed at the Invalides to thank Edi (" El Matador, from soldier to legend, a striker who marked the history of our club ", in Spanish in the text) without the initiative having been validated by the 'all the components of the CUP, in particular by the K-Soce Team, one of the main groups of Parisian ultras.

Yo en vuestra historia y ustedes en la mía 🤝 ... GRACIAS

Me in your story and you in mine🤝 ... THANK YOU

Io nella vostra storia e voi nella mia🤝 ... GRAZIE

I in your story and you in mine🤝 ... THANK YOU pic.twitter.com/VC4OPD85MK

- Edi Cavani Official (@ECavaniOfficial) September 13, 2020

The banner of discord

A choice that ticked off beyond the inner circle of ultras.

"Why pay homage to him?

He ruined everything with the way he left without communicating anything.

We must stop doing the same, of course, he's the club's top scorer, but that gives him all the rights?

No, he abandoned the club in the middle of the Champions League, he leaves through the very small door when he should have gone out as a lord.

I was against this banner because I blame him, ”says Christophe, 44 years old and a Parisian supporter since always.

Conversely, for Alexandre, member of the CUP, this tribute was the least that the ultras could do.

“The group that paid tribute to him is a group of old people who know the values ​​of football, who have a real football culture.

They wanted whatever happened to thank Cavani for what he had done for us.

They've gone a little further than some bands, they know what it means for everything he's done.

I am one of those people ”, confides this member of the Collective Ultras Paris.

“This tribute is better than nothing”, engages Alexandre, another regular at the Park but who does not have his card with the ultras.

“For the CUP it comes down to respecting the jersey, the coat of arms.

I can understand that some do not like the way Edinson left and especially the vagueness that there is around this departure.

I can even understand the betrayal that some feel.

But I don't forget everything he did for us.

And I hope that on Tuesday a real tribute will be paid to him, ”adds an exiled supporter on the side of Lyon.

Cavani who waves the PSG flag.

- SIPA

The historic leader of the CUP throws in the towel

All this mess for a simple banner, some would say?

It would be misunderstanding the capital importance of this medium for the ultra medium.

As proof, according to

, it is partly for this reason that the historic leader of the CUP Romain Mabille has decided to hand over after years of hard work to put the ultra movement of PSG at the center of the chessboard of the stands. French.

That and the controversial banners deployed all over Paris before the Classic against OM last September, without the decision having been unanimously validated there either.

"I am ending my presidency of the CUP and my activities within the association," explains Romain Mabille in his message announcing his departure.

In recent weeks, I had already taken a step back.

I will communicate later on the reasons for my choice as well as its consequences.

[…] There are a lot of things I no longer share within the CUP and PSG.

My frankness and my values ​​push me to make this choice.

[…] I leave the presidency with my head held high, being able to look at myself in the mirror, proud of my record.

"

According to our information, the story is not that binary.

“The tribute to Cavani is not the trigger for Romain's departure, it is much more complex than that,” confides a person close to the CUP.

It could have played out, it's true, but I believe that it also has to do with the Covid context, the closed doors in the stadiums.

After that it is true that on the bottom there has been a lot of disagreements within the CUP lately, in particular about Cavani.

Everyone is divided, even within different groups not everyone was in agreement.

"

The K-Soce Team is one of the main ultras groups of the CUP within the Virage Auteuil.

- Alain JOCARD / AFP

The CUP must find its unit

It must also be said that the very composition of the Collective Ultras Paris - a single official entity but several sub-groups inside -, wanted by the authorities after the years of violence in the Park and the establishment of the Leproux Plan does not help. individually in all circumstances.

"You have to succeed in synthesizing all that and sometimes you end up having to make the big difference", continues this connoisseur of the ultra Parisian movement.

“Within the CUP there are many groups with very heterogeneous profiles and each one will identify with one or the other according to his age, the values ​​conveyed by the group, confirms a member of the CUP.

Obviously on arrival there can sometimes be dissensions.

But it's part of the life of an ultra band.

"

It was only after months of silence and once his contract with Manchester was signed that the Uruguayan gave a sign of life to Parisian supporters.

“Hello Paris, hello to everyone.

There you go, I'm here to thank you.

After a little while, yes that's true […] but sometimes it's good to let a little time pass.

It makes things quieter and the head quieter.

And less risk to create a situation and a more negative atmosphere [it is quickly said].

I am here to thank everyone.

To the supporters who gave me their hearts, slowly over time.

It's a love that has grown over time but it's something that is very important to me.

"

A little short will say certain, better than nothing will advance the others.

But the question is (already) no longer there.

Edinson Cavani is gone, life goes on and the main objective of the new president of the CUP, Nicolas Boffredo, will be to maintain the unity of the group between now and their return to the platform at the end of the health crisis.

Then it will be time to find a new idol to worship.

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• Manchester United

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