Casemiro knew he wanted to play for Manchester United when he was a teenager – and has vowed to help take the fallen giants back to the top.
Brazil international Casemiro, 30, who joined United from Real Madrid for a fee rising to £70million, has never played at Old Trafford as a professional. The only time he has played at the Theatre of Dreams was back in 2007, for Sao Paulo's youth team, in the Nike Cup, when he was just 15-years-old.
He was part of a hugely-talented generation of Sao Paulo players, whose youth squad included Tottenham forward Lucas Moura and former Chelsea midfielder Oscar. Although Sao Paulo lost to Barcelona in the final, Casmerio's first taste of Old Trafford left a lasting impression, with his move to United finally fulfilling an appointment with destiny.
“Well, to be honest, I'm coming back here, 15 years later,” said Casemiro. “I don't know whether many people know this but I played in a competition here when I was 15.
“When I was at Sao Paulo, and you have that film that runs through your mind that, 15 years later, you come back here to play for Manchester United and not in your wildest dreams would you imagine yourself playing here.
“Obviously, when I played in that Nike Cup, I would have liked to come here and now that I'm here again, I'm the happiest man alive. There's a great deal of history here. It's a club that has a lot of history, not just the stadium, but the club as well.
“It's the biggest club in England. It's the club with the most titles. So, I'm really happy and just can't wait to get going. I can't wait to produce on the pitch and help out my team-mates and to help Manchester United to win games and to go on to win trophies.
“I've already felt that special affection from everyone towards me and, of course, that's really important. I felt that great affection from the moment I arrived and I think it's a new challenge. I feel like I'm 20 or 18 years of age, I'm raring to go.”
A five-time Champions League winner with Real, Casemiro has vowed to help change the mentality at United by example, something boss Erik ten Hag has insisted must happen if the club is to be successful again.
“I'm a player that loves to work hard,” Casemiro told United's official website. "A player that gives everything on the pitch, but not just over 90 minutes, in training too, which for me is the most important thing.
“You train as you play and I think, regardless of the scoreline or what's happening on the pitch, of course everyone wants to win matches, win in training, learn in training.
“But I'm one of those players who wants to go home and know that I've done my job, so that's my philosophy, my mentality and now it's all about giving everything for Manchester United.For me, you train like you play and I feel that's key to winning games and titles. You have to train as hard as possible to play at your best, be strong and fully committed.”
As a sign of his commitment to United, Casemiro has vowed to learn English as quickly as possible so he can communicate with everyone at the club.
“My wife speaks English, I have a seven-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son, so they speak a bit better English than me,” said Casemiro.
“I'm truly sorry to all of the United fans that I don't speak English, but I want to study, I want to learn as soon as possible so that I can learn about English culture, to learn English and speak to my friends, my team-mates, all the club staff - I want to show them I'm one of them.”
