Manchester United have 14 players going to this winter’s World Cup and three of them will be playing for Brazil, with Alex Telles (on loan at Sevilla) also in the squad.
Among those is summer signing Casemiro, who has already become one of Erik ten Hag’s most important players after joining the club from Real Madrid in August.
For Brazil, Casemiro is one of the first names on the teamsheet and he often plays alongside Fred for his nation. Fabinho, the Liverpool midfielder, plays occasionally and the pair were actually briefly teammates at Real Madrid roughly 10 years ago.
Speaking ahead of Brazil’s first game at this year’s World Cup, Fabinho has admitted that Casemiro told him of his aspirations to play in the Premier League.
The 29-year-old also jokingly says that Brazilian players are going to the wrong part of England by joining United, hinting that he would like them to join Liverpool instead.
“When I left (Real Madrid) and saw him winning opportunities at Real, I always sent him a congratulatory message. Regardless of whether we compete for position, we get along very well,” Fabinho is quoted as saying by Brazilian outlet UOL.
“He had already commented that he would like to play in the Premier League. Too bad he went to the wrong place in England, huh?
“I hope he doesn’t improve Manchester United that much. He, Fred, Antony, there are a lot of Brazilians going to the wrong place in the country (laughs).”
SN’s verdict…
Signing Casemiro was a real coup for United and you can already see the immense quality he has. Some players have difficulties adapting to new leagues but Casemiro looks to be tailor-made for the Premier League.
He was initially kept out of the team due to Scott McTominay’s stellar form but after breaking into the side, he is now one of the few undroppable players.
At international level, his status is similar. Fabinho has been limited to playing second fiddle to Casemiro and that’s likely to continue at the World Cup.
