Casemiro not an €80 million waste of money for Man Utd after all

FT Desk

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:46 CDT
• 4 min read

Casemiro has come in for some stinging criticism since swapping Real Madrid for Manchester United for €80 million in August, with Graeme Souness the latest to take aim at the Brazilian…

Man Utd had chased Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong all summer, but with the Dutchman refusing to leave Camp Nou they looked to the other side of the Clasico divide to fill a gap in midfield and acquired Casemiro instead.

The €80m fee was certainly a significant one for a player who turns 31 in February, but United are used to paying a premium players and this just so happens to be one who has won five Champions Leagues.

Casemiro's Old Trafford start was slow. He initially watched on from the bench as Scott McTominay fulfilled what would be his role at the base of Man Utd's midfield, but he has been growing in influence by the week and crowned his recent run with a late equaliser against Chelsea on Saturday.

What did Souness say?

"He was playing with great players. He's not a great player. He has never been a great player," Souness said recently when asked about the Brazilian on talkSPORT. "I see him as a steady Eddie who will help United be more solid in midfield."

"I don't think he has got a great range of passing. I don't think he is going help other people play. I think he was lucky to be in that Real Madrid team. I never look forward to watching Casemiro. [Karim] Benzema, definitely. The other midfield players, definitely.

"I never thought, 'I'm really excited to watch Casemiro play today'."

But Casemiro is quickly proving that appraisal wrong. He slipped Cristiano Ronaldo through for his 700th club goal in 2-1 win at Everton two weeks ago and has now opened his own account with a late headed winner against fellow European aspirants Chelsea.

That is four points he has been directly accountable for since he swapped Madrid for Manchester. Four points that could be the difference between European football or not next season. Not that scoring and assisting is even Casemiro's job.

Quite aside from his burgeoning attacking stats are the ones that show 40 recoveries and 18 accurate long balls in his brief time in Man Utd's first team.

Not every player needs to have Luka Modric's magic in midfield in order to be an effective player or worth the entrance fee. Souness, a former midfield enforcer himself, should know better.