By Joao Cunha
Casemiro is about to finalize his shock move to Manchester United after Real Madrid and Manchester United agreed to a deal worth around 60 milliion Euros and that could rise up to 70 million Euros if certain targets are met. This signals the end of the Kroos, Casemiro, Modric midfield or more commonly referred to as the KCM. A midfield that has been together since the 2015-16 season and has been with very few exceptions the starting midfield trio for Real ever since. This transfer signals the beginning of a transition at Real Madrid, as the club already signed Casemiro’s replacemnt in Aurelin Tchoumaneni and could bring in additional midfielder in the transfer window. Still Casemiro is a hard player to replace and his legacy will be cemented as a Real Madrid legend. Before discussing the future I will take a look back at Casemiro and his trajectory at Real Madird.
Casemiro began his career at the youth academy of Sao Paulo, and rapidly rose through the ranks as one of the best center-midfield prospects in the world. Alongside Neymar he helped Brasil win the 2011 U=21 World Cup and became a target for all the big European clubs. Despite a promising start to his early career, discipline issues and too much partying threatened to derail Casemiro’s career. He was very inconisitent at Sao Paulo and despite helping the team win the Copa Sulamericana in 2012, he was not a starter for the latter stages of the tournament. He was mainly used a spot-atarter and sub by Sao Paulo manager Ney Franco. Many Sao Paulo fans were displeased with his lack of consistency and when Real Madrid came in with an offer to buy Casemiro for around 10 million Euros, the club was happily accepted. The myth about Casemiro in his early days was that the Sao Paulo fanbase drove him out of the club. Neto a (in)famous pundit in Brazilian TV always mocked Sao Paulo and tyhe fanbase saying that they ruined Casemiro with their strong criticism and that the club lacked patience with the youngster. (Neto also supports the rivals of Sao Paulo, Corinthinans so there is eome bias there.) However that is not entirely the case, as Casemiro showed very few flashes of true star potential at Sao Paulo. He was being beched for the likes of Arsenal-reject Denilson and freaking Toro, it’s not like the club didn’t want him to shine. Casemiro alongside Lucas Moura were the two great prospects Sao Paulo had at the time, one turned out to be a legend and helped Sao Paulo win the Sulamericana scoring in the ifnal, the other didn’t live up to expectations. Lucas Moura was soid for over four times what Casemiro was sold for, and he was considered to be the star of the future, not Casemiro. In fact Real Madrid seizxing a mrket oppurtunity took a small gamble on Casemiro because of his excellent performances at the Under-21 Brazil side, not his form for Sao Paulo. Real Madrid also intially wanted him on loan and put him into the Real Madrid Castilla so they could monitor and develop him. Even Real when they bought him knew he was a project but they felt they could give him the structure and coaching needed to be successful. In 2013 Casemiro’s Real journey began and he would have a meteroic rise to the top.
When Casemiro left for Real Madrid, Sao Paulo fans infamously mocked Real for their transfer. (The UOL comment section at the time was basically Sao Paulo celebraing the fact they got any money for Casemiro some saying they would have driven him to the airport for free.) This sort of doubt although can be laughjed at now, was not without merit at the time. Real were taking a risk on an underachieving talent and he needed time to gain confidence. He started off playing at Real Madrid Castilla and within a few weeks impressed the club so much that Jose Mourinho handed him his Real debut against Betis in the league. In that game he played 90 minutes was very solid defensively and really caught the eye for his positioning sense for such a young player. His passing wasn’t too sharp and he made a few questionable decisions but he certainly had what it took to play for Real Madrid. He dind’t play again the rest of the season but new manager Carlo Ancelotti refused to loan out or sell Casemiro in 2013-14 and he played a lot of games. He mainly came off the bench and started some Copa del Rey games and a few La Liga games but he was improving slowly. The most iconic performance and the turning point of Casemiro’s Real Madrid was a vital Champions League game against Dortmund. Real Madrid were losing 2-0 and couln’t allow Dortmund to score again or else they would go to extra-time, the season was on the line. Ancelotti due to injuries was forced to send in Casemiro with 20 minutes left to try to salvage the tie, and Casemiro performed. He won tackles, shielded a weary defense, earned free-kicks, and organized the team as they held on to advance to the semi-finals of the Champions League. Casemiro proved his worth as Real player and Madrid went on to win the Copa Del Rey and the UEFA Champions League with Casemiro being a key member of the squad. Ancelotti felt he needed more game-time to develop further and he was loaned out to FC Porto where he would have a great season. When Casemiro returned to Real Madrid in 2015-16 he was ready to be a starter.
Although Rafa Benitez the new Real Madrid manager in 2015 liked Casemiro and used him in certain games against PSG and other league games, he didn’t use him against Barcelona. The result was a 4-0 beatdown by Barcelona and Benitez would be fired several months later. His replacement Zidane struggled initially and after a 1-0 home loss to Atletico Madrid dropped James Rodriguez to the bench and started Casemiro with Modric and Kroos. The rest was history, as Real went on to nearly win La Liga and veat Barca at the Camp Nou 2-1. In the UEFA Champions League, Casemiro helped Real win the competition arguarbly being man of the match in the final against Atletico Madrid. From that season on regardless of manager Casemiro was an automatic starter as a defensive midfielder. He shielded th back line and did the dirty work which allowed Toni Kroos to pass the ball, and Luka Modric to find the killer pass. He was the bodyguard of the team sticking up for his teammates, never backing down from a tackle, and scoring critical goals as well. In 2016-17 for instance he scored against Barcelona, he netted the winner against Bilbao, hit a tremendous volley against Napoli, and the game-winning goal against Juventus in the Champions League final. He won La Liga for the first time in 2017 and would add two more La Liga titles in 2020 and 2022. He would also score twice against Atletico Madrid in his career, including a bicycle kick at the Wanda in 2019. His goal against Manchester United helpe Real win the UEFA Super Cup in 2017, and he started the 2016 and 2022 finals in which Real won as well. in 2016, 2017, and 2018 he was part of the Real sides that won three straight Club World Cups. in 2018 he also helped Real win their third straight Champions League and becoming a pillar of that side. In addition he would win three Spanish Super Cups in 2017, 2020, and 2022. in 2021-22 Casemiro won his fifth Champions League saving his finest performance against Liverpool. He was outstanding in the final, winning tackles, clearing crosses, earning free-kicks, passing the ball well, he had becoem the defensive midfieler in the world and that final proved it. With all his accolades he started his journey at Real Madrid as young man with a dream a last chance to save his career. He leaves Real Madrid as a winner, a grown adult, and with a priceless legacy that he will leave behind him
For Real Madrid this loss will hurt as he was still the starter and key member of Real Madrid’s double winning side the previous year. There is no doubt that he will be missed in the short-term. However in the long-term this might have been the right move. Although Casemiro had a great end to last season, he had shown some signs of decline the last two seasons. This was so evident that Real Madrid spent 80 million Euros on his replacement in Aurelin Tchoumaneni this summer so the club were preparing for this day. In that sense the sale of Casemiro just speeds a rebulidning process that is neccessary. Real Madrid canot keep on winning relying on Kroos, Modic, and Casemiro forever. At some point they will have to be phased out of the team and since there’s no ideal time to replace legends it might as well be after a season where Real has been so successful. Real have the replacement for Casemiro in 22-year odl Tchoumaneni who despite his shaky debut is a remarkable talent and was signed to be the heir to Casemiro. He may not be fully ready yet, but if he really is that talented he will come good with time. As for Manchester United, they are signing an excellent player who is also a great leader and will add toughness wo a weak side. Manchester United need more players but Casemiro is a great start and he will be worth the money if he can be supported properly but if United thinks he will be the answer alone they are a bigger mess than previously imagined. For Casemiro this move allows him to double his salary while also getting more years to his contract, in a financial sense it’s a no-brainer. Especvially as Casemiro is not a star attacki8ng player, he doesn’t have the ability to make money out of sponsorships as more high profile players so a salary increase is the best way for Casemiro to make more money. Sporting wise it’s a chasm as Manchester United are currently last place in the Premier League and are in the Europa League. However they are a big club and if Casemiro succeds at Man United he can only increase his legacy. In addition he has won enough trophies and maybe feels that it’s time to take as much money as possible. He is 30 years old and this would be his last big contract so he needs to take advantage of his value while he still can. As for Real Madrid receiving 60-70 million for a 30-year old player that you have a replacement for is good business. They could be hurt short-term and potentially cost them a chance to win the Champions League this season and maybe even diminish their chance of retaining La Liga. Real don’t operate on short-term sucess anymore and for the club the future is the key. In this sense the sale of Casemiro makes more sense. The club isn’t desperate, they have prepared for this day, and they can overcome this loss even in the short-term. Manchester United are desperate, poorly-run, and they need Casemiro in the worst way. This transfer as painful as it is for Real Madrid fans is a sign of a club being run the right way, the emotions of fans are being balanced with financial and sporting reality. Casemiro isn’t getting any younger and shown signs of decline, this season was the best season to sell him off while he still has value. It might be the end of an era at Real but the beginning of a new one that could yield as many titles as the last one.
realtakesite 
Congratulations for your article..I’m also a fan of Casemiro
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