Casemiro’s Man Utd exit stance, phone call to club chief and teammate’s furious reaction
Casemiro made a big impact during his maiden season at Manchester United, but the veteran midfielder has failed to emulate that imperious form this term.
The Brazil international, 32, has looked a shadow of the player who quickly established himself as one of United’s most influential players last year in recent weeks and was alarmingly off the pace in Saturday’s chastening 3-1 loss at home to Brighton.
Several pundits, including Old Trafford favourite Rio Ferdinand, raised concerns over the £70million transfer fee United parted with to bring Casemiro to Manchester 12 months ago, while others questioned whether or not the midfielder would have the adaptability or the appetite to play a substantial in Erik ten Hag’s ambitious rebuilding project.
Casemiro may have fallen short of expectations this season, but criticism of the former Real Madrid superstar is harsh. If there is anybody who still has plenty of credit in the bank, it’s Casemiro…
Casemiro’s bold phone call
Given that Casemiro had become accustomed to success during a near-decade-long stint at Real Madrid, it would have been understandable had he shunned interest from Manchester United after watching them get torn apart by Brentford last August.
Instead, the multi-time Champions League winner picked up the phone and told the Manchester United hierarchy that he couldn’t wait to get started at a club in dire need of quality reinforcements.
If anybody had any doubts about Casemiro’s hunger to achieve success with a new team after winning it all in Madrid, they were quickly quashed.
Real Madrid may have gleefully pocketed the £70m fee United stumped up for Casemiro, but the decision to sell their chief enforcer was not a universally popular one.
Toni Kroos played alongside Casemiro and appeared to be frustrated by the transfer, initially saying: “The Premier League has not won an international title this year. Television money has been significantly higher in England for years and yet it hasn’t resulted in English teams winning everything. Thank God not all players look only at salary but also at winning.”
