MANCHESTER United striker Edinson Cavani has apologised for the social media message he posted following his match-winning performance at Saints on Sunday.

The Uruguay international inspired United’s comeback 3-2 victory at St Mary’s with two goals and an assist after coming off the bench at half-time.

Replying to a message of congratulations on Instagram, Cavani used the Spanish term ‘negrito’, which translates as ‘black’.

The 33-year-old insists he is “completely opposed to racism”, having deleted the post after he had been made aware of the connotations.

“The message I posted after the game on Sunday was intended as an affectionate greeting to a friend, thanking him for his congratulations after the game,” he said in a statement.

“The last thing I wanted to do was cause offence to anyone. I am completely opposed to racism and deleted the message as soon as it was explained that it can be interpreted differently. I would like to sincerely apologise for this.”

United also issued a short statement backing Cavani.

“It is clear to us that there was absolutely no malicious intent behind Edinson’s message and he deleted it as soon as he was informed that it could be misconstrued,” it read.

“Edinson has issued an apology for any unintentional offence caused. Manchester United and all of our players are fully committed to the fight against racism.”

The Football Association – which is aware of the matter and, at the time of writing, was investigating – issued guidelines ahead of this season clamping down on racist and discriminatory language and behaviour, with offences on social media carrying a minimum three-game ban.