Casemiro enters defining final act looking to validate his legacy as one of football’s great midfielders

When Manchester United won a derby at Wembley in 2024, Casemiro was first dropped from the team and then out of the squad altogether, an apparent hamstring injury following the hurt of omission. When they lost a derby at Wembley a couple of months later, he was captain, creator and shootout scorer.

Casemiro did not get to lift the Community Shield. Perhaps he did get an indication – even beyond the armband on his sleeve – to suggest there may be a way back into favour. Erik ten Hag said there was “no signal” that the Brazilian will leave this summer; it may mean there is no Saudi club willing to absorb his colossal salary.

A shift in the pecking order could prove a short-term affair. Casemiro’s end-of-season demotion below Sofyan Amrabat felt ignominious in itself, given the Moroccan’s form for much of the season, even if it was justified by his excellent display against Manchester City at Wembley. It reflected, too, the Brazilian’s dreadful spring; the nadir came in the 4-0 thrashing at Crystal Palace, though there was also his bizarrely bad version of the offside trap when Arsenal visited Old Trafford.

The nadir came when he was an ersatz centre-back. If the Community Shield suggested Casemiro was given a more suitable role than last season, it was not merely because he was restored to midfield; with Matthijs de Ligt primed to accompany Leny Yoro among the summer’s centre-back arrivals, he may not have to be drafted into defence again this year.

United’s 2023-24 trauma could look mortifying for Casemiro even when he was in midfield. As Ten Hag’s team became more stretched, as his tactics more baffling, as opponents routinely amassed 20 shots a match, United looked like the team with no midfield; or Casemiro the player with no company. High pressing and a low block created a huge gap in between: scarcely ideal for any midfielder, still less so for an ageing, ever more immobile figure.

And United have been altogether more compact on two trips to Wembley. Ten Hag’s system could be described in various ways: it may be most accurate to call it 4-2-4-0, with twin false nines creating a central square. Amrabat benefited in the FA Cup final, Casemiro in the Community Shield.

The distances around him were small; he was less likely to be isolated, outnumbered, outrun. “So he’s very fit in this moment,” said Ten Hag. “As a team we work very good together, that makes it for ‘Case’ more easy. He’s a great football player and he can bring his skills in and you say he’s important for the game for our team.”

Those skills were evident for two fine openings. He may lack mobility, but not ability. In a one-two with Amad Diallo and a pass to find Marcus Rashford, when the latter shot wide, Casemiro illustrated an ability to unlock defences. Indeed, there is a case that his greatest attribute last season came in attack: he was the defensive midfielder who had acquired a goalscorer’s mentality and posed a threat at set-pieces.

And yet United’s fundamental requirement is for someone who can excel off the ball, as well as on it. It explains an ongoing search for a defensive midfielder. There is interest in Manuel Ugarte, but not at the price Paris Saint-Germain want. United are considering bringing back Amrabat or bringing in Monaco’s Youssouf Fofana or Burnley’s Sander Berge.

The Norwegian may not be seen as a nullifier but then Casemiro was supposed to be the defensive midfielder supreme, the serial Champions League winner. But in United’s more ragged shape, his methods had started to look too illegal or, at least, too obviously illegal. Two seasons brought three red cards, 18 yellows and more than one substitution to spare him a different kind of early exit.

He could have been cautioned at Wembley when he went to ground to upend James McAtee; there is an enduring rashness to some of his tackling. But if he can exert his authority in a smaller area, with more teammates around him, there could be scope for that disciplinary record to improve.

And yet there is also the possibility he will find himself understudying a new signing. A comparison with his compadres in a great Real Madrid midfield does not flatter him: Luka Modric, 38, is a substitute at club level, too, but his summer of international football was a valiant failure with Croatia, whereas Casemiro has lost his place in the Brazil squad altogether. Toni Kroos retired at the peak of his powers, with Real Madrid wanting more, and only Germany’s Euro 2024 loss to Spain denying him the greatest farewell of all. For Casemiro, it is a longer goodbye; there have been times in the last year when it has seemed it will be a more embarrassing one. But Wembley offered some hope that maybe a man whose United career could have ended this summer can instead resurrect it and return to some semblance of excellence.