Cavani, Silva will leave PSG, confirms club sporting director Leonardo

Edinson Cavani (L) and Thiago Silva of Paris Saint-Germain in the Ligue 1 game against FC Metz at Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, April 28, 2015. /VCG

Paris Saint-Germain of Ligue 1 announced that two of the team's veterans, Edinson Cavani and Thiago Silva will leave as free agents this summer.

"The idea is to continue playing with them until the end of August. It was a very difficult decision to make; these are players who have marked the history of the club ...Their stories were so beautiful. But yes, we are coming to the end," said PSG's sporting director Leonardo. "We had to make a logical decision, economically speaking and with regard to the generation that is coming through."

Edinson Cavani (C) of Paris Saint-Germain celebrates after scoring his 200th goal for the club in the Ligue 1 game against Girondins Bordeaux at Parc des Princes, February 23, 2020. /VCG

Cavani transferred from Serie A's Napoli to PSG in 2013 at the price of 64.5 million euros (about 72.6 million U.S. dollars). Having played 301 games for the French champion club, the Uruguayan striker scored 200 goals in almost seven years.

Silva was introduced by PSG from Serie A's AC Milan in 2012 with 42 million euros (about 47.3 million euros). In his best time, Silva was seen as a top 3 center back in the world and he has made incredible defensive contributions to the seven straight Ligue 1 titles PSG have won.

Thiago Silva (C), captain of Paris Saint-Germain. lifts the Ligue 1 championship trophy after defeating Dijon 4-0 at Parc des Princes, May 18, 2019. /VCG

Ligue 1 was the only one of the five major European football leagues that ended the 2019-20 season in advance because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Professional Football League (LFP) declared PSG as the champions but the truth is there are still more games for the club to play because the UEFA Champions League is not over and will come back in August.

PSG knocked out Bundesliga's Borussia Dortmund in the Round of 16 competition and are waiting for their quarterfinals rivals to be decided.

Despite their age, Cavani (33) and Silva (35) should be able to find new jobs in Europe if they are willing to accept pay cuts. For example, Inter Milan of Serie A are looking at the Uruguayan striker to improve their offense and AC Milan are interested in signing their old defensive leader back.