‘If not the most’… Casemiro says 2024/25 at Manchester United was one of the biggest seasons of his career

Five-times Champions League winner Casemiro has given a surprise verdict on the season just gone.

Casemiro has won it all at club level, with multiple trophies in Spain and England. By far the most successful stint of his career came with Real Madrid.

Manchester United signed Casemiro in 2022 for £60 million just after he had won his fifth Champions League trophy.

At Manchester United he has just experienced his first trophyless season, after lifting the Carabao Cup and FA Cup in the two preceding campaigns.

Despite this, Casemiro has immense satisfaction at how the season worked out for him personally.

Photo by Franklin Jacome/Getty Images

Casemiro takes victory in Manchester United fightback

Casemiro began 2024/25 in poor form. His performance in Manchester United’s 0-3 home defeat to Liverpool was especially troubling.

He was at fault for two goals and substituted at half-time, and he was heavily criticized.

New head coach Ruben Amorim was unconvinced and left him out for most of December and January, preferring youngster Toby Collyer.

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And then Casemiro began to fight back. The Brazilian proved the old adage ‘form is temporary and class is permanent’, with a series of impressive performances in the final few months of the season.

Casemiro regained his starting spot for United, and has even been recalled to the Brazil squad.

Speaking ahead of Brazil’s World Cup qualifier, Casemiro explained his immense pride at the campaign just gone, despite United’s struggles.

He told Imirante Esporte: “This year was one of the most important years of my career… if not the most.

“Everyone wants to talk about titles and victories, but from the moment you don’t play, you can change the opinion of the coach who arrives and doesn’t let you play.

“The coach didn’t count on me at first and now he praises me.

“It was a year of resilience, one of the happiest and most successful of my career.”

Casemiro played in 42 games during the season for Manchester United, scoring five goals, and he was integral to the spectacular comeback win against Lyon.

Data from Sofascore shows Casemiro averaging a 7.32 performance rating for the season, while averaging 3.17 tackles per game.

Ruben Amorim spoke to TNT Sports in May about the improvement from Casemiro, commenting that his United coaching staff have worked closely with him.

“He improved a lot also, you can see not in the way he plays but the way he runs, and you can see it.

“We have the data to show he worked really, really hard. He’s a very good example. But he was not playing.

“Even Toby [Collyer] sometimes was playing in front of him. And now it’s hard to take Casemiro [out]. So it’s a lesson for all the players in Manchester United: no matter what the past or the last month, everything can change in one moment.”

Amorim explained how he felt Casemiro was being used too far forward and pressing too high up, and following a tactical tweak, he has been able to get more out of him.

Casemiro proud to earn Brazil recall

Returning to the Brazil squad is a proud moment for Casemiro after a two-year absence from the Selecao.

His former Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti being appointed certainly helps, but Casemiro refutes suggestions that he has been recalled due to this connection, proud that he has earned the recall.

He explained: “I am happy to be back in the national team, to know the coach, but to be back playing good football, which is the most important thing.

“I want to emphasize that. I am not here because I know the coach, it is because I deserve it.”

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