Manchester United fans welcomed Casemiro from Real Madrid in the summer, with the Brazilian making a £70m move from Spain.
Since his arrival, Casemiro has quickly become one of United’s most important players, with Erik ten Hag himself describing the midfielder as “the cement between the stones.”
The Brazil international has added much-needed steel and grit in the middle of the park for United, which has on the whole made the team a more defensively resolute and compact unit.
The Manchester Evening News reports that when the Red Devils were secretly plotting a move with the player’s representatives, the 30-year-old had three key requests that were relayed to John Murtough.
Samuel Luckhurst relays, “As conversations with Casemiro progressed, he told the United football director John Murtough he only wanted to know three things: where he lived, where he trained and where he played.”
“The personable method of video calling emboldened Casemiro to request a video of the gym at United’s Carrington training complex. So a United staff member was sent through the labyrinthine corridors of the main building and downstairs to comprehensively capture the vast gym on film.”
The Manchester Evening News adds, “The gym environment was vital to the Brazilian as United had learnt from contacts at Real Madrid it was not unusual to see Casemiro lifting weights as early as 8 am at their Valdebebas base.”
Casemiro is said to exude a quiet authority within the dressing room.
He has been known to issue instructions to Lisandro Martinez and Marcus Rashford. For Martinez, the ex-Real Madrid man instructed him to stop playing out from the back in a hard-fought 1-0 win against Southampton.
The five-time Champions League winner also berated Rashford for running into blind alleys and dribbling into traffic.
Beyond United, fans will also be pleased that Casemiro is dazzling on the biggest stage with Brazil.
Recently against Switzerland, it was his brilliant goal that proved to be the difference, helping the Seleçao advance to the knockout stages.
