Casemiro’s first interview as a Manchester United player has offered a glimpse at just how unhappy Cristiano Ronaldo is at the club.
The Brazilian was unveiled as a United player before the 2-1 win over Liverpool on Monday night at Old Trafford. He has joined the club in a deal worth £70million, signing a four-year contract which has the option of a further 12 months.
Casemiro is the fourth summer signing by United, who have also added Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez to Erik ten Hag’s squad. The five-time Champions League winner is a major sign of intent by the club after five years without any silverware, but the transfer has been slightly overshadowed by the situation surrounding Ronaldo.
After missing pre-season for personal reasons, Ronaldo has made it clear that he wants to leave United this summer. He is desperate to play Champions League football in the twilight of his career and there remains considerable uncertainty over his future as the September 1 transfer deadline approaches.
That feeling appears to have come across to Casemiro, who gave a telling answer when asked if he had spoken to his former Real Madrid teammates Ronaldo and Raphael Varane. “Yes, I've spoken to Rafa. He tells me he's happy,” he told the club website before offering no such rosy picture of Ronaldo’s state of mind.
“His family is very happy here in Manchester and I feel Manchester United have a great centre-back in him and, as we know, Cristiano is up there as one of the best players in the history of football and I think he'll keep achieving things.”
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Casemiro is obviously delighted to be reunited with two familiar faces from Real, where he spent a hugely successful nine years. Varane and Ronaldo both joined United last summer so already have plenty of experience of playing for the club from the ups and downs. “Well, they are two players that I've had the pleasure of playing alongside,” Casemiro added.
“We could spend all day talking about Cristiano. He's one of the best players in the history of football. Looking back at his time at Real Madrid, I think we spent seven years together, so it's an honour to play once again with these players but not just these guys, I'm looking forward to meeting my new teammates, to helping them and them helping me, too. I'm incredibly excited to be here at Manchester United.”
Ronaldo remains determined to leave United this summer, but the public stance at the club is that he is not for sale. The 37-year-old has another year left on his contract and his £500,000-a-week wages make his departure difficult.
Atletico Madrid, Sporting Lisbon, Napoli and others have been tentatively linked with a transfer for the Portuguese forward, but nothing concrete has emerged yet. With just a week left in the transfer window, time is running out.
