- Casemiro announced his departure from Manchester United in January
- There has been pushback from fans who want the Brazilian to stay one more year
- United star was on £350,000 per week
It has been reported by Tyrone Marshall of the Manchester Evening News that Casemiro will now be able to start every remaining game after a clause in his contract that would have led to an extension was cancelled.
The 34-year-old has been on fine form this season, but it is understood that he has a clause in his deal that would have led to a one-year extension if he started 35 Premier League fixtures in his final season at the club.
The Brazilian is currently sitting on 28 league starts, and in the form he is in, he will be expected to reach the 35 mark.
Manchester United and Casemiro, however, reached an agreement to waive the cause when he formally announced he would be leaving the club at the end of the season.
A night to forget: Casemiro crumbles
On 6 May, 2024, Jamie Caragher claimed that “the football has left” Casemiro.
“I always remember the saying ‘leave the football before the football leaves you’,” Caragher said on Sky Sports. “The football has left him at this top level.
“He needs to call it a day at this level of football and move. A man of that level should not be going through what he’s going through now; he needs to call it a day.”
This particularly damning speech by Liverpool’s former centre-back came after a harrowing 4-0 defeat to Crystal Palace.
It was the fourth-to-last match of the season, and United fell from 6th to 8th, where they ultimately stayed.
For a five-time European champion, this performance stained an otherwise near‑immaculate CV.
In the 12th minute, Michael Olise—destined for Bayern—ripped past him with blistering pace, evading a weak, poorly timed tackle before thundering the ball past Andre Onana and into the back of the United net.
In the second half, he failed to track Tyrique Mitchell’s run, allowing the left-back to strike the ball into an unguarded net to make it 3-0.
With United already beaten and broken, Casemiro compounded the disaster, succumbing far too easily to Daniel Munoz’s shoulder, which allowed Olise to receive a simple pass and once again carve through the defence, finishing spectacularly.
It was a devastating performance. A slow-motion unravelling of what was once the best defensive midfielder in the world, shown up by a young 22-year-old Olise—10 years his junior—every gap in his display ruthlessly exposed, leaving him battered, broken, and gasping under the floodlights of Celhurst Park.
Redemption: Casemiro’s resurgence
688 days later, Casemiro is once again seen as one of the best defensive midfielders in the league.
Has he hit the heights of his Real Madrid days? No. But he has worked tirelessly to try to reclaim his dominance in midfield.
Those in and around the club have praised the Brazilian for his indefatigable determination. First one into the training ground, last one out.
Even when the likes of Toby Collyer took precedence, Casemiro seized every opportunity to guide the young Englishman, offering advice and mentorship instead of merely occupying space on the pitch.
Many United fans will be sad to see the Brazilian go. While the memories include some low points—the Crystal Palace match being the most striking—fans will remember Casemiro fondly for his four years of service at the club.
