Recently, according to Samuel Luckhurst, The Sun’s chief Manchester United reporter, news of Casemiro’s imminent departure is one of the least surprising stories to emerge from United this season. His signing came at a high cost, but his performances have been acceptable.
Casemiro is destined to be released. If he were to stay, that would truly be astonishing. He is one of the club’s highest earners, with a weekly wage approaching £350,000, and will turn 34 next month.
His peak season was his first, so United could never realistically allow him to complete a fifth and final season. His form over the past year has been decent, primarily featuring in European competitions last season.
However, in the Europa League quarter-final against Lyon, he played a heroic role, helping United come back from a 2-4 deficit to win 5-4.
To be fair, he hasn’t been marginalized this season—some had expected he might be, given the pace of the Premier League. With only one match per week and Ugarte proving so unreliable, Casemiro just about passed muster and performed reasonably well..
In last week’s Manchester derby, six or seven United players outperformed him, yet he inexplicably received the Man of the Match award. From his perspective, however, he can show potential suitors that he still has something left to offer.
Signing an aging central midfielder for an initial £60 million from Real Madrid—with the deal potentially rising to £70 million—now seems unwise. This doesn’t even include the £73 million in wages paid over four years.
Earlier, United spent the entire summer trying to persuade Frenkie de Jong to leave Barcelona. Casemiro excelled in his first season, emerging as a strong contender for United’s Player of the Year award and scoring in the League Cup final to help secure the trophy.
Ten Hag described him as “the cement between the stones” because he brought balance to a midfield desperately needing a defensive anchor. At the time, he was among the best of his generation—a world-class midfielder from Real Madrid—and it was his debut season at Old Trafford.
In his second season, his form began to decline rapidly, especially when paired with Mount in midfield—an ill-matched combination. The experiment lasted only two matches before Casemiro suffered an injury and never regained his rhythm afterward.
During the team’s injury crisis, he selflessly filled in at center-back on multiple occasions, though this did him no favors. Most notoriously, in the 4-0 defeat at Crystal Palace, he was easily beaten by Olise for the opening goal.
It was precisely this spirit of self-sacrifice that ultimately earned him a spot in the FA Cup final squad. In the end, however, Ten Hag opted to start Amrabat, and Casemiro didn’t even make the bench due to injury.
It looked like a final curtain call, yet he remained for two more seasons—mainly because no one else was willing to pay nearly £350,000 per week to an aging central midfielder whose performance level was, at best, barely adequate.
They failed to find a buyer during last winter’s transfer window. In December 2024, after the loss to Newcastle, Casemiro went an entire month without playing.
United simply hope to find a buyer, but the likelihood is “almost zero”—somewhat akin to the scenario in the film Oppenheimer where the Earth’s atmosphere ignites. Keeping a player of his caliber on the payroll for another 18 months is not a good situation.
United had to accept him, but he respects his own limitations and recognizes there are things he can no longer do. Recently, Carrick decided to recall him, benching Ugarte, for the 2-0 derby victory—and his performance was surprisingly steady.
In the end, he may be remembered as yet another costly mistake—but that seems a bit harsh. During the two successful post-Ferguson seasons, he contributed to one of the club’s two cup triumphs.