Farewell Casemiro, adios amigo

You don't wear this shirt, you carry it. 

Eight words to sum up the departing Casemiro perfectly. There have been many players to ply their trade on the hallowed turf of Old Trafford, and plenty to make their mark on its history. But perhaps none in recent times more than the affable Brazilian.

Cult hero status assured

There are icons, there are legends, and there are cult heroes. The first two categories take care of themselves and the names roll off the tongue. From the days of Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and George Best, up through the eras to the silver-plated times of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney,  Nemanja Vidic, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs. 
The third category is a little harder to define - cult heroes don't always win Premier Leagues or Champions Leagues, or have statues built or stands named after them. They are the grafters, the charismatic mavericks, the men who represent us fans on the field with their love, dedication and commitment to their craft - and our club. 

The likes of Ji-Sung Park, Nani, Diego Forlan and John O'Shea all hold that status here. Yes, they did win titles too but were often overshadowed by their more illustrious and decorated team-mates. 

It has perhaps taken a while, but Casemiro will leave United as one of these cult heroes. 

It is easy to fall in love with a foreign export if you are someone like Ronaldo or Bruno Fernandes - you are the heartbeat, the string-pulling creator in chief, the flair player to get you off your seat. Exciting attacking fulcrums are what fans want - those players get all the glory and are often your match winners. 

But how often do defensive midfielders receive adulation to this extent - totemic titans Roy Keane and Bryan Robson aside, maybe? It is testament to Casemiro's impact, commitment and genuine affinity for United that he will leave the club almost universally adored. The feeling is very much mutual. 

"I will carry Manchester United with me throughout my entire life" - for a man from the Brazilian favelas who has been there and won it all at Real Madrid, that is quite the statement. It is enough to give this particular sentimental hack the hint of a tear in his eye. 

From outcast to indispensable

But yet it wasn't always this way. 

Casemiro was parachuted in to answer United's midfield SOS call after a 4-0 shellacking at Brentford - future Red Bryan Mbeumo and all - in 2022. He came as the supposed epitome of United's failing transfer strategy - a big name 'Galactico' the wrong side of 30 on massive wages into an alien, madcap, 100mph environment.  Another commercial pound grab by the board, another prima donna. 

But Casemiro has shown throughout his four years in Manchester he is up for the fight. He has recovered from setbacks - and slander - that would make lesser players melt. 
Jamie Carragher branded him a 'plodding steady Eddie' and to 'leave the football before the football leaves you'. He was dropped for the 2024 FA Cup final and was once hooked in lieu of Toby Collyer with United two down to Liverpool. Even in that sorry second season, he sacrificed himself, and selection for the cup final, by selflessly filling in as a makeshift centre-back in the midst of an injury crisis. 

That all seems a long time ago now. True, United's two lowest ever Premier League placings have come with Casemiro in midfield, but it is no co-incidence we have also finished third twice since he's been here. Erik ten Hag's 'cement between the stones' may not have delivered the major titles we all have craved but his Man of the Match showing, and goal to boot, in the EFL Cup final at Wembley certainly helped scratch that six-year itch.
ten Hag's basketball mantra of 'you attack, we attack' often left him marooned in midfield against three - sometimes four opponents - and then Ruben Amorim's ill-fitting tactical blueprint which left everyone, even the players, scratching their heads in bafflement.

The time is right, I'm moving on..

And so we have come to the end of the (United) road for this quiet, undemonstrative family man. Someone who does not speak much, but - when he does - everyone listens. 

It is the right decision to let him go. He is 34 years old, has completed 90 minutes only 14 times this season and qualification for the Champions League will bring about a 25% increase in player salaries. United were never going to countenance an ageing and rotational squad player on 350k a week. It is simply too expensive, too much of a risk with the constant shadow of PSR in the rearview mirror. 

But it is this very fact that has made his stock rise further. Despite announcing his departure in January, Casemiro's Reds career would have the most impressive of epitaphs. It would have been very easy for him to forgo a future he will not be part of by downing tools and, basically, not giving two hoots whether we made the Champions League or not. 

Not for this introverted leader and his resurgence deep in the heart of United's engine room. A best ever goalscoring season with nine, all of them headers, often in tandem with the omnipotent Bruno, spearheaded United's charge under soon-to-be-permament manager Michael Carrick. 

He has done his damndest to ensure the Reds will once more sit at Europe's top table, even with the shifting sands of time counting down to his Old Trafford epoch. And that's all credit to him. 

Casemiro had a knack for key goals. His 94th-minute equalier at Chelsea in that debut season. The Cup final winner and decisive header away to Forest in the FA Cup fifth-rounder the following year. The pivotal role in that astonishing climb-off-the-canvas comeback against Lyon. But his legacy is these last few months, driving United on to the land of milk and honey even when he knew he won't be here next season. He has given every last bit of energy and effort, every last drop of sweat and blood, to get this club back to where it should be. And for that I will always be grateful. 

Adios amigo, it has been a pleasure. Duh duh duh duh, Casemiro, Duh duh duh duh...