Proving Ruben Amorim wrong, no sugar and 'the best decision of my career': Man United insiders reveal how Casemiro went from pariah to pivotal as he prepares for emotional Old Trafford farewell

Shortly before kick-off at Old Trafford on Sunday, a banner will float across the Stretford End paying tribute to Casemiro for his contribution to Manchester United.

Supporters now know they won’t get their wish for one more year. Just one more game at the place he has called home since 2022, against Nottingham Forest, before next weekend’s final farewell at Brighton.

It was United’s decision not to trigger the 12-month extension in Casemiro’s contract that makes him the club’s highest-paid star, even though it could cost them £80million to replace him. It was Casemiro’s preference to announce his impending departure in January to end any further speculation and allow him to pursue his next move.

Almost certainly, it will take him to Inter Miami where the 34-year-old can close out his career in the sun playing alongside Lionel Messi.

That Casemiro will walk out against Forest as a pivotal figure in this United team with the adulation of fans ringing in his ears, says much about his time in Manchester.

When he arrived from Real Madrid after winning a fifth Champions League title, those supporters could have been forgiven for wondering if he was just another expensive foreign star passing through, like so many others over the last decade. Even Casemiro is said to have been shocked that United were prepared to pay Madrid a £70m transfer fee and give him £375,000 a week in wages, considering he had just turned 30.

But while his heart will always belong to the Bernabeu, he leaves with genuine affection for United – and the feeling is mutual.

‘I needed a new challenge, and it was the best decision of my career,’ he told the Rio Ferdinand Presents YouTube channel this week. ‘The club, the fans, the city, gave me what I needed.’

United signed him in the summer of 2022 after giving up on a protracted pursuit of Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong, having been in talks with both their top targets for some time. There was a dearth of No 6s on the market and United had been aware of Casemiro’s availability towards the end of the previous season as they sought to replace Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic.

They wanted quality and leadership, and Casemiro gave them both in abundance. The United delegation were struck by his hunger to move to Old Trafford and his humility despite a glittering career in Madrid.

‘He liked the family feel of the club and embraced it,’ says one source. ‘He was a leader in the dressing room and a reassuring presence at the training ground.’

More than anything, he set the highest standards at Carrington. Team-mate Benjamin Sesko describes him as ‘a machine’ and it’s said there are days when he can be a moody one at that.

Speaking to Daily Mail Sport in September, Casemiro’s long-time agent Oscar Ribot revealed how the 84-cap Brazil international works out in his gym at home before and after training, uses a hyperbaric chamber to aid recovery and observes a strict sugar-free diet to keep his weight at a steady 13st.

‘Maybe in four or five years I can enjoy (myself), but I don’t have time. I need to push, push, push,’ Casemiro told Ferdinand this week. ‘For the best players in the world, it’s here. It's the mentality.’

The highlight of a strong first season under Erik ten Hag was Casemiro’s headed goal in the Carabao Cup final win over Newcastle. The second was more challenging, however, due to a loss of form and fitness as Ten Hag often replaced Casemiro in midfield with Sofyan Amrabat and also played him out of position at centre back.

The low point came when he was named on the bench for the victorious 2024 FA Cup final against Manchester City and then withdrew from the squad with what was described as a tight hamstring.

As United celebrated at their hotel in Mayfair that night, Casemiro was already on a private jet back to South America.

When Ten Hag replaced him with young Toby Collyer at half-time against Liverpool at the start of the next season, Casemiro’s wife Anna Mariana posted a photo of his trophy collection, in a pointed message to the United boss.

Even after Ruben Amorim took over from Ten Hag, Casemiro was left on the bench for nine of the first 13 games under the new Portuguese coach, who admitted that he was below Collyer in the midfield pecking order.

Those who know Casemiro well say that he considers changing Amorim’s opinion of him to be his greatest achievement at United, after he fought to win back his place, and earn a recall for Brazil under his old Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti.

Another insider remembers the star giving Collyer lengthy pep talks in the dressing room before games ‘even though he was a five-time Champions League winner and this kid had taken his place – it shows the measure of the man’.

Casemiro goes into his Old Trafford farewell with 32 Premier League starts this season and a career-high nine goals (his ‘6-7’ celebration is dedicated to his son Caio and daughter Sara). Of the four games he wasn’t in the line-up, United have lost three and drawn one.

No wonder fans wanted the club to give him one more year, and his match-worn shirts are being auctioned for more than £5,000 online.

Casemiro will leave immediately after his last match at Brighton for Brazil’s World Cup warm-up games, and part of the send-off for the player and his family involved a team-bonding barbecue on Wednesday when the club hired a bungee jump for all the kids at Carrington.

‘My young boy cries when the team loses,’ Casemiro said this week. ‘He knows every song and he pushes the team. Unbelievable.

‘I need to go out on a high level, but Manchester United live in my heart.’