Real Madrid: Why Casemiro is not playing for Manchester United

Casemiro shocked the football world by leaving Real Madrid to join Manchester United in the summer in a deal that could rise up to £70 million with add-ons. On paper, it made very little sense for the Brazilian. He left the European champions for a club that are not even in the competition this year.

But then, rumours suggested that Casemiro was almost going to double his wages with his move from Real Madrid. On the other hand, for Los Blancos, it was perhaps way too good of an offer to turn down, since the Brazilian is 30 years of age.

Real Madrid have been proven right in their decision since then as Aurelien Tchouameni has seamlessly stepped in in the absence of Casemiro and his ceiling might be even higher than the Brazilian legend.

On the other hand, Casemiro has not even been able to establish himself in the starting XI of Manchester United. We saw another example of that this week as he was only brought off the bench, as Manchester City beat the Red Devils 6-3 and it could have easily been much worse for Erik ten Hag’s side.

Real Madrid: Why Casemiro is not playing at Manchester United

As reported by Manchester Evening News, speaking on Casemiro’s situation, Ten Hag said:

"“On the day we signed him, we started to win and it’s about the team.“The team is doing really well, it’s not against Casemiro, it’s for, in this case, Scott McTominay, he performed great in the team and then we get into a run.“But I’m sure it will be important for us in the long and short-term, he will find himself in the team but it has to come in a natural way.”"

It is safe to say that Casemiro would not have foreseen his situation at Manchester United when he left Real Madrid for Old Trafford in the summer.

It is hard to make sense of this situation. For years, defensive midfield has been considered as an area of weakness for Manchester United. But now that they have signed one of the best in the world in that position, he is being left on the bench in favour of Scott McTominay.

Hopefully, after the 6-3 defeat at the hands of Manchester City, Ten Hag will consider starting Casemiro more often.