Manchester United will bid farewell to another one of Erik ten Hag's landmark signings at the end of this season when Casemiro departs.
Casemiro celebrates a goal for Man United.
Manchester United midfielder Casemiro will leave at the end of this season.(Image: Copa/Getty Images)
View Image
As Casemiro announced his intention to leave Manchester United at the end of this season, on Thursday night, it was easy to feel mixed about his departure. Full credit must be given to the Brazilian for turning the sentiment of the fans around so well.
He enjoyed a brilliant first season before struggling massively in his second campaign with the Reds. The Premier League looked to be too tough a challenge for Casemiro in the 2024/25 season but he gained plenty of goodwill from supporters for his displays in the Europa League, en route to the final in Bilbao.
This season, the Brazilian has ensured fans will have fond memories of him, with good performances in the Premier League and becoming integral once more to the midfield. Despite the Reds holding a clause to extend his stay by a further 12 months, the time was right to bid farewell to Casemiro.
Extending the midfielder's stay would have seen the club commit yet again to the hefty wages which Casemiro currently earns. It was simply too much for United to agree to, and there was no incentive for the 33-year-old to agree to a wage reduction particularly when the riches of the Saudi Pro League could await him.
Of course, with the exit of Casemiro comes the expectation for United to go out into the transfer market and now replace him. The problem for the Reds is they can't and won't repeat the same £272m gift which was handed to Erik ten Hag when the midfielder first joined the club.
Ten Hag arrived as a different option for the club after backing an icon in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer previously. He had made his name in the Eredivisie and there was a lot of eyes on the Glazers to see if they would back the manager.
In terms of money, they did just that. Casemiro signed for up to £70m as United panicked after going all-in on Frenkie de Jong, only to be let down by the Barcelona man at the last minute.
What followed was an £85m outlay on Antony, a £72m Rasmus Hojlund investment, and a £47m fee for Andre Onana. Mismanagement by the Glazers meant Ten Hag was given free will on signings and used his contacts to bring players to United.
Now, we know Antony has gone for a smidge of his original value, Hojlund and Onana's time at the club is all-but done and Casemiro will be leaving for free. The previous football leadership regime spent significant sums to back their manager without forming any accountability for him - this was completely reckless.
While Jason Wilcox and Ineos are not flavours of the month among the United fanbase, right now, the creation of their positions was needed after spending too long relying on managers to handle recruitment. The Reds will still be paying for the reckless spending of the past in the summer transfer window as they look to invest their money wiser though.
Casemiro remains an example of reckless spending, even though, out of Ten Hag's quartet, he departs with the most credit. Spending such staggering amounts on players to appease a manager is not what United should be about, there needs to be a long-term plan.
Ineos claim this is the case, but proof of that remains to be seen. Whoever the new head coach is this summer, be it Michael Carrick or someone else, they can't return to gung ho transfer approach which served them badly before.
United know they will need to open their chequebook this summer to replace Casemiro. But it's how they'll spend those extortionate sums which the Reds will look to change moving forward.