At a Glance
- Casemiro set to leave Manchester United
- Bruno Fernandes gave his thoughts
- The pair linked up for a goal vs Aston Villa
‘One more year, one more year, Casemiro,’ echoed around the Stretford End after the Brazilian powered home a header in the 54th minute against Aston Villa, and it returned once more when referee Chris Kavanagh blew the final whistle on Manchester United’s 3–1 victory.
It has been just under two months since the Brazilian midfielder confirmed that his four-year spell in the North-West would soon come to an end. In a heartfelt message released on 22 January, he reflected on his time at the club.
“It is so special, and I will always carry this club with me for all my life. I will always be a Manchester United fan, my whole family, too. In England, I am red, I am Manchester United until death. So all I want to say is: thank you for everything.“
The Old Trafford crowd are not alone in wanting the Brazilian to stay. Speaking in the tunnel after the victory, club captain Bruno Fernandes admitted he hopes his teammate might yet reconsider.
“I’d prefer he didn’t go,” he told DAZN.
Casemiro’s Aerial Authority
Few midfielders in modern football impose themselves in the air quite like Casemiro. Since joining the club, the Brazilian midfielder has scored 24 times across 154 games, with 15 of them being headers.
His most famous—and most decisive—came in the 2023 League Cup final, when Casemiro headed home against Newcastle United to open the scoring. This helped Manchester United lift their first trophy since winning the Europa League in 2017.
This season, however, Casemiro has morphed into a goalscoring machine, netting seven goals already to equal his best season in terms of goals. And out of those seven goals, six have been headers from set pieces.
Fernandes joked after the Villa win (via Fabrizio Romano):
“Casemiro should give me a share of his goal bonuses. I have a very good connection with him, he’s someone who moves around a lot. His timing is perfect.”
| Player (Premier League) | Total set-piece goals |
|---|---|
| Casemiro (Manchester United) | 6 |
| Callum Wilson (West Ham) | 4 |
| Malik Thiaw (Newastle) | 4 |
| Eli Kroupi (Bournemouth) | 4 |
| Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool) | 4 |
| Micky Van De Ven (Tottenham Hotspur) | 4 |
Old Trafford’s Plea for Casemiro
As the end of the season looms closer, it seems highly unlikely that Manchester United will hit the U-turn and decide to extend Casemiro’s contract for one more year. The simple fact is that the Brazilian earns a reported £350,000, making him the third-highest-paid player in the Premier League.
With Manchester United’s debts piling up to £1.3 billion, the notion of keeping a player who earns £18.2 million per year would be unwise.
Casemiro’s legacy extends beyond United. He spent his best years in the white of Real Madrid, winning five Champions Leagues at Los Blancos. But there is no doubt that his years at Manchester United have left a lasting mark on the club and its supporters.
