Casemiro will leave Manchester United at the end of the season having enjoyed a largely positive spell at Old Trafford, but that didn’t always look like being the case.
On 22 January, when it was announced that Casemiro was to leave Manchester United upon the expiry of his contract at the end of the season, it’s fair to say the main angle for discourse revolved around how much he’d be missed.
That may not sound especially groundbreaking given that’s quite common when a player leaves any team. But for Casemiro, it was notable because it highlighted a significant shift in perspective.
It’s true that Casemiro was – is – having a good season. However, it wasn’t so long ago that he was broadly considered a huge weakness in the United team, and he attracted disparaging comments in the media.
After the 4-0 hammering at Selhurst Park by Crystal Palace in May 2024, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher eviscerated Casemiro.
The former Liverpool captain said Casemiro “should only have another three games left at the top level”, and that “the football has left him; at this top level, he needs to call it a day” – this came a few weeks after another Sky Sports pundit, Jamie Redknapp, claimed the Brazilian looked like he was playing at the pace of a charity match away to Bournemouth.
Casemiro’s display against Palace attracted even more attention partly because ref-cam footage was released showing his unimpressive attempt to dispossess Michael Olise before the Frenchman scored. The footage went viral.
"He needs to call it a day at this level of football and move."@Carra23 believes Casemiro should be going to the MLS or Saudi after this season. pic.twitter.com/kHCGe8sUHq
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 6, 2024It was no real secret that United were pretty keen to move Casemiro on that summer. Performances were likely part of that, but they were also apparently eager to get his hefty wages off the books.
Casemiro is thought to be United’s highest earner, on about £350,000 per week. And when it comes to his confirmed departure at the end of this season, his salary must be considered as the main reason for him not ultimately staying on.
Either way, though, Casemiro’s renaissance has been applaudable. Having once descended into something of a joke figure, he’ll likely leave with his reputation firmly intact, those difficult periods mere blips in an otherwise decent spell at United.
In fairness to Casemiro, his return to a level of prominence at United hasn’t just been a facet of this season.
He fell out of favour initially at the start of Ruben Amorim’s time in charge, with the Portuguese coach suggesting Casemiro didn’t have “the characteristics” to play as part of a midfield two in his infamous 3-4-3 system.
The chart below from last season demonstrates how Casemiro’s minutes fell off cliff around the point that Amorim took over – but it also depicts how he battled back into contention.
One of the main issues for him before Amorim’s arrival had been how open United were. Erik ten Hag’s team become known for the gaping holes in their midfield and, with Casemiro not getting any younger, he was frequently exposed.
He could still pick a pass and make a tackle, but if a transition-based side countered on United, there were times when Casemiro offered practically no protection to the defence because he lacked the pace to cover the ground he was required to.
Of course, the main issue then was Ten Hag’s system, and under Amorim, United weren’t quite as open.
But still, Casemiro was a fairly awkward fit out of possession because Amorim wanted United to press high. He even acknowledged that he opted to change the team’s pressing structure to accommodate the former Real Madrid star.
“We understood that he cannot jump all the time pressing high,” Amorim said towards the end of the 2024-25 season. “We need to let him understand and sometimes it is better to put three defenders and let him be the fourth defender and put the wing-backs pressing high.”
The issue of Casemiro’s diminished mobility was probably best highlighted by the fact that last season he had the third-lowest top speed (30.5 km/h) among central and defensive midfielders to play at least 450 minutes in the Premier League.
That figure is exactly the same this term, but it’s been less of a glaring issue because the general feeling is United are more compact. The numbers tend to back that up as well.
For instance, United have spent 27% of match time using a high block in 2025-26, down from 32% in 2024-25 and 30% in 2023-24. And yet, their passing sequences have had an average start distance from their goal of 42.8m, up from 42.3m last term and 41.5m the season before.
These differences aren’t massive, of course, but they do suggest some change. The higher average start distance also supports the idea that the defence operates closer to the midfield, meaning Casemiro has been less likely to find himself drowning in acres of space.
But none of this really takes into account how important Casemiro’s been offensively as well.
Since the start of February 2025, Casemiro’s 11 goal involvements (seven goals, four assists) across all competitions is bettered only by Bruno Fernandes (35) among United players.
Over that same period, just two Premier League players have scored more than Casemiro’s five headed goals in all competitions, with the Brazilian undoubtedly playing a role in helping United become a highly efficient side at attacking set-pieces.
His passing ability remains a real weapon for United as well.
Not only does he rank 10th for line-breaking passes (LBPs) this season (145) among central and defensive midfielders, having played fewer minutes than all of those ahead of him, but four of his LBPs have been in passing sequences that ultimately led to goals – only three players can better that.
This helps quantify the usefulness of his incisive passing – and one such example came just this past weekend, as Casemiro threaded the ball through to Matheus Cunha to rifle in against Fulham.
Casemiro has essentially, then, gone from being behind Toby Collyer (who’s just joined Hull City on loan) in the pecking order, according to Amorim, to being one of the most important players in the United team.
But this shouldn’t distort the reality that it’s probably the right decision for United to let him move on.
Too often over the past decade or so they’ve held on to players for too long or given too much importance to aging players.
For a while, it looked like Casemiro fit into that bracket as well, but his form over the past 12 months actually suggests United got things about right with the Brazilian. He’ll have had four seasons at the club, and for more than half of that time he’s been a valuable member of the team.
Renewing his deal may have sent the wrong message, however, when the club is trying to cultivate a forward-thinking image to differentiate it from the barren years post-Alex Ferguson.
With all this in mind, Casemiro won’t leave as a signing to be regretted, rather a player who overcame adversity to become useful and relevant again. United move on without desperately clinging to something or in fear of losing a good player for nothing, while Casemiro departs with his reputation restored and pundits eating their words. It seems to be a rare example – especially for Man Utd – of both sides getting the timing right.
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Casemiro Could’ve Left Man Utd a Joke Figure – He’ll Leave a Cult Hero After Changing the Narrative Opta Analyst.
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