Real Madrid’s players weren’t happy.
They had heard Casemiro was being linked with a move away from the club, but initially dismissed it. When they realised the Brazilian was set to join Manchester United, a group of senior players went to see manager Carlo Ancelotti.
They got straight to the point: Madrid cannot let Casemiro go, he’s integral to the side that has won everything, the reigning Spanish and European champions.
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But Casemiro was going and the world is seeing how good a player he continues to be as he drives World Cup favourites Brazil forward. His stunning strike against Switzerland brought victory and assured qualification to the knockout stages with a game to spare. The 30-year-old is in his prime, loving life for his club and country. He was adamant from the minute he signed that he would give it his all for United until the World Cup and then do the same for Brazil.
💥 Casemiro shatters the deadlock!
It's a hammer blow to Swiss hopes#ITVFootball | #FIFAWorldCup
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) November 28, 2022
Actions speak louder than words, but he was soon true to his promise. Casemiro is only 18 games into his United career but there isn’t a better trainer at Carrington than the club’s first player from South America’s biggest city, Sao Paulo. A second, Antony, followed a few weeks later. Several sources have told The Athletic that Casemiro is the first player to arrive at training, the first in the gym, the one who sets the standards for the rest and is considered a leader, despite the fact he is still learning English. This is a man who once cut short a much-needed post-tournament family holiday because he was irked Atletico Madrid beat Real Madrid in a pre-season friendly.
One leading international analyst, speaking about Casemiro but preferring to remain anonymous to protect their job, says, “(His strengths are) the unmeasurables. His positioning when the team is attacking. He’s always ready to defend and ensure balance centrally to break a counter-attack by the opposition with an interception, tackle or foul. That’s his biggest strength. This is the best tactical knowledge and he makes strategic decisions from that.”
In little under three months, Casemiro justified the hype. He loves playing in England and loves playing for United. He particularly enjoyed the game at Everton, his first full league start, when United came from behind to win 2-1 in an old stadium, with the travelling fans singing, ‘United! United! United!’. He did not have 3,000 away fans watching him every week with Madrid and the English football culture is what he hoped it would be. His family are settled nicely into Manchester life, too.
The Athletic spoke to several key people as part of this article and the picture of him at United was unanimous — the same words kept coming up, like “humble” and “listener”.
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“The biggest thing with him is how there is no ego, he’s a proper professional,” said one source, speaking on condition of anonymity, who sees him train. “He came in and didn’t pander to Cristiano (Ronaldo). He connected well, he was professional, positive and confident. He’s an elite-level footballer. On the pitch, he is so disciplined in his positioning, especially in possession. He understands the manager’s wishes and it’s his strength to hold position and pass forward.”
Scott McTominay and Fred are both rated by manager Erik ten Hag and McTominay deservedly kept his place in the team for the first month after Casemiro arrived, but the change in the Manchester derby was significant. Casemiro replaced McTominay after 59 minutes, with United 4-1 down. United would score two and City another two with Casemiro on the pitch.
At United, McTominay and Fred are considered more as No 8s who want to run and make it into the box, whereas the man the players call ‘Case’ — pronounced ‘Cass’ — is happier to hold his position.
He started every league game after the derby and was on the pitch for 90 minutes in all but one, when he played 87. In that run, there were four wins, two draws and one defeat. By the time his hard-to-score header at Stamford Bridge earned United a point in a game they didn’t deserve to lose, the fans had come to adore him. That game at Chelsea was significant for more than the result: as against Spurs a few days earlier, United took the game to the Londoners and dominated with confidence. It had been years since the team had done that. When you have one of the best midfielders in the world, you can attempt that.
United are better with the Brazilian in the side. In Europe, they won five of the six games he played, but he didn’t move to Manchester to play Europa League football next season. He’s serious about getting United back into the Champions League and has been ever since United made tentative enquires to understand Casemiro’s availability in June 2022. The club had been tracking him for a long time because he fitted the profile of a defensive midfielder, a playmaker, someone who could sit there and read the game, be strong and get United playing. United also had different profiles in terms of how Ten Hag wanted his team to play.
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These came about through chats at a hotel near Schiphol Airport in the spring of 2022. Ten Hag wanted his then-club Ajax to be his priority and his only afternoon off was on a Tuesday. United officials flew to the Netherlands to talk to him for hours, then have dinner. John Murtough made the most trips, Darren Fletcher too. Steve Brown, the head of scouting, and Richard Hawkins, who leads United’s sports science, also went to speak with him.
Frenkie de Jong was a player identified in that key position, a top-quality footballer performing at a big club. But Casemiro was always on the list. As soon as United got in touch, they found the conversations with Casemiro’s people to be constructive and very encouraging.
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The Radar - The Athletic's 2022 World Cup scouting guide
Casemiro was clear he wanted to join United and play in the Premier League and United were certain they weren’t being played by someone who wanted a new contract in Madrid, as had been the case with Sergio Ramos previously. While the angle from Spain would be that Casemiro had an offer he couldn’t refuse, United didn’t even feel it was about money with the Brazilian, more that having won everything he wanted to start a new chapter, similar to Raphael Varane.
United got a sign of Casemiro’s mentality and desire for a new challenge after the Brentford defeat in the second match of the season. A meeting in Madrid had been arranged prior to the game, to take place on the Tuesday, but the 4-0 loss was a poor advert for United and there was some uncertainty Casemiro would carry through with the talks. But when his camp called up United they conveyed the message he was more determined than ever to join and give his effort trying to correct the team’s form.
Madrid wanted him to stay but if there was a time to cash in it was in the summer. They had young midfielders Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni who needed to play. And Madrid wouldn’t be getting £60million ($74m) for him when his contract finished in 2025. Madrid could also show that selling top players hadn’t weakened them.
Two weeks after being named man of the match in Madrid’s European Super Cup victory against Eintracht Frankfurt and three months after leading them to another Champions League success against Liverpool, a smiling Casemiro arrived in Manchester — on the day United played Liverpool. Protest was in the air and some United fans refused to believe Madrid would sell one of their best midfielders to a team playing Europa League football until they saw him in the flesh. They did that night.
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Football was surprised, not stunned. One senior Barcelona figure, who asked not to be named, told The Athletic: “Casemiro will bring balance. He won’t shine with passes but will do the invisible work.”
That comment, though accurate, looks like an understatement. Because, right now, he’s shining for club and country.
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(Top photo: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
