Edi, what's it like to score?

The 35-year-old is celebrating at the moment, after Uruguay clinched a spot at the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar with a narrow 1-0 victory over Peru.

If selected for the winter tournament, it will be a fourth consecutive appearance at the finals for Edi.

And he could join an exclusive club, consisting of just Cristiano Ronaldo, Pele, Miroslav Klose and Uwe Seeler, if he nets during the competition, as he will then have scored in four separate World Cups.

We recently asked Edi what goes through his mind when he completes his primary job as a striker and he gave this illuminating and insightful answer about letting it all go…

“I’ve always described scoring a goal as being like a release of a lot of emotions all at once,” began Edi. “Like hard work, dedication, perseverance, determination, preparation.

“All these things a lot of the time make huge emotional and physical demands on you.

“You have to be on it, and try to do everything just perfectly, or the best you can, in order to be in the right place at the right time to score the goal.

“Scoring a goal for me is like a release, an outpouring of emotions, which I guess is a bit like a fan in the stands has: watching every second of the game and feeling and living every kick; willing the ball to go into the net and wanting his team to win.

“I’m sure that sometimes fans can get home from the game all stressed-out, and that might even be after their team has won!

“But I’d say that maybe footballers and especially strikers feel that way too.”

Edi has struck 19 times so far in a Manchester United shirt since joining the club in October 2020 and fans were immediately taken by the passionate way in which he celebrates his efforts.

The former Palermo, Napoli and PSG marksman explains that’s part of the swirling emotions of joy - and relief - he feels at finding the net.

“Wanting to score a goal to feel that adrenaline rush, that release, along with all those different emotions that you feel the moment your goal goes in,” he continued.

“So it’s like a release for me, not in the sense that I just did what I had to do, no! A release and unleashing of the many things I described, of the things that you work on and prepare so that moment can come around.

“Then when you manage to convert, wow, you let go! And that’s why you let yourself go by shouting and celebrating, sometimes maybe a little bit more than you ought to!

“You’re just celebrating the goal.”