Casemiro has recently named the one Real Madrid player he believes was even more complete than Cristiano Ronaldo during their time together at the Bernabeu. The Brazilian midfielder is set to leave Manchester United when his contract expires this summer, but while there have been flashes of his brilliance in the Premier League, it’s easy to forget just how formidable he was at his former club.
During his spell with Los Blancos, Casemiro formed one-third of arguably the greatest midfield trio in football history alongside Toni Kroos and Luka Modric. His relentless work rate did the dirty work for those around him, helping the side to five Champions League titles and three La Liga triumphs.
But neither of his midfield partners got the nod from Casemiro when naming the most complete player he played alongside in Spain. Instead, the Brazilian went a little left-field with his choice.
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Casemiro Names Real Madrid Player Who Was More Complete Than CR7
Casemiro Cristiano Ronaldo
Casemiro has claimed that Gareth Bale is the "most complete player" he's played alongside in his career - despite Rio Ferdinand's shock that he didn't name Ronaldo during a recent interview. He explained (watch the full segment below):
"Cristiano is the best, take Cristiano out of the conversation, but for me, Bale is the most complete player. Cristiano is a scorer, minimum 15 goals. But Bale can attack, defend, head, score, foul. Everything he does very good, very quick, too strong. And for me, Bale is an unbelievable, unbelievable player, unbelievable player."
Casemiro spent nine seasons with Ronaldo across stints at Real Madrid and Manchester United. It's much longer than the time he shared with Gareth Bale, who was bizarrely ousted out of the Bernabeu by ruthless media, despite scoring 106 goals and registering a further 68 assists in just 258 appearances.
Among his highlights was his iconic 2018 Champions League final bicycle kick vs Liverpool, which remains one of the greatest in the competition's history.
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Rio Ferdinand then quizzed the midfielder about other players he had shared a pitch with, including Neymar and Ronaldinho. "Neymar doesn't even defend." Casemiro replied. "Neymar is another player and Bale, in the best moment, can attack, defend, score, head, foul, strong. It's helping the line forward. Bale is top."
It seems the Brazilian wasn’t a fan of his compatriot’s lack of defensive work, and yet the fact Cristiano Ronaldo never drew the same frosty assessment says a lot about where Casemiro draws the line when judging attacking brilliance, especially given how famously Ronaldo himself has never been known for his defensive tracking back.