Casemiro has been an excellent signing for Manchester United since making a £70m move from Real Madrid last summer and the 31-year-old has opened up about his decision to leave the Spanish giants.
Even before he had officially joined United, Casemiro promised he would "fix" them after watching Erik ten Hag's side lose 4-0 to Brentford defeat. In the aftermath of the defeat, which left United bottom of the Premier League, Casemiro texted his agent: "Tell them [United] I'll fix it."
He went on to make 51 appearances for United in all competitions, helping them win the League Cup, qualify for the Champions League and reach the FA Cup final. Reflecting on his decision to make the move to United after spending around a decade with Madrid.
Speaking to Brazilian magazine Placar, Casemiro revealed: "First, I talked to my family [about leaving], who immediately accepted it. It was the chance to leave a big club on top, at an age that still allows me to have that willpower.
"If it were two or three years from now, I wouldn't leave Real Madrid to go to another big one [club], I wouldn't have that ambition to change leagues. And best of all, it [the Premier League] was exactly what I thought.
"The main thing is that there is no easy game here, the first place plays against the last and is not sure of winning. If you do it with only 90 per cent of your strength, you lose."
Casemiro also admitted he was surprised by how much the United fans embraced him as soon as he joined. "Everyone at the club has always been very affectionate, I felt loved from day one, which wasn't easy after spending ten years at Real Madrid," he added.
"It's been a very good mix, from the fans, staff, players, and that's been very important for my adaptation. It's all great, I was told Manchester was a tough city to live in, but I'm loving it."
Speaking back in June, he explained that he was "really upbeat" about making the switch to Old Trafford as soon as he was made aware of their interest. " I had no second thoughts at all," he recalled.
"I was aware my period at Real Madrid had come to an end and I was really upbeat about coming here and taking on this new challenge. I knew it wouldn't be an easy challenge, but we knew there was still a long way to go in the season. It was a project in which you wouldn't start winning things overnight."
