Manchester United fans are expected to give Casemiro a rousing send-off in his final Old Trafford appearance for the club against Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Casemiro’s United Journey
The Brazilian midfielder has made 159 appearances and scored 26 goals for Manchester United. Fans have frequently sung his praises at United games, especially when he has scored. A popular chant among supporters is, “One more year, one more year, Casemiro.”
The 34-year-old responded by kissing and pointing to the badge on his shirt when they played Brentford last month. United’s supporters lapped it up.
Casemiro’s time at United has not been without its challenges. There was a time when the fans turned on Joshua Zirkzee, when he was substituted in just the 33rd minute by Ruben Amorim during a particularly woeful home defeat by Newcastle. The unspoken reality of that day was that, while the reaction to Zirkzee’s exit was bad, had Casemiro’s number been held up, it would have been even worse, such was the veteran’s ineffective contribution to a dreadful team performance. As it turned out, the midfielder was replaced after 64 minutes. He didn’t play again for a month and didn’t start for nearly seven weeks. As Amorim reflected at the time: “Even Toby [Collyer] was sometimes playing in front of him.”
That was nine months after Jamie Carragher’s damning “leave the football before the football leaves you” comment following a 4-0 defeat at Crystal Palace in May 2024 that led Erik ten Hag to the brink of dismissal as manager, before the FA Cup final success later that month in which Casemiro was left out completely.
Turning Point and Revival
In January 2025, there were few external criticisms of Carragher’s assessment, which Casemiro branded “disrespectful” in an interview on Rio Ferdinand’s podcast, which was published earlier this week. Amorim felt Casemiro did not have the physical capabilities to be effective in the Premier League.
It took three months of hard work to change Amorim’s mind. On 6 March 2025, he started the first leg of the Europa League last-16 draw with Real Sociedad. He kept his place for the league game against Arsenal and, from that point, has started every major game United have played.
“Football changes. Life changes,” Casemiro said in his recent interview with former United captain Ferdinand. “For me, [with] the best players in the world, it’s about the mentality. I might not play good – I’m not a robot and I know. But the next [game], I give everything on the pitch. The mentality is next, next, next.”
Casemiro’s Future
It is a mentality that has brought Casemiro back into the Brazil squad. He is expected to be Carlo Ancelotti’s captain at this summer’s tournament.
This season, the 34-year-old’s influence has noticeably increased.