Casemiro hailed Bruno Fernandes as “world class” as he picked out five of his Manchester United teammates with star quality.
The Brazil international has been in fine form for United in the last few weeks, scoring crucial goals and proving himself to be a leader of Erik ten Hag’s side.
The 31-year-old is used to being surrounded by brilliant players having spent seven years at Real Madrid, and believes that although playing for United is very different, there is still quality in abundance.
“The style of play here is different, the build-up play, the manager, the league, the club are all different,” the Brazilian told United Review. “Every club has their own way of playing, the most important thing is adapting quickly, that’s what I try to do.
“I’ll say it again, it’s impossible to do it on your own. There’s the quality of my teammates. There’s Licha [Lisandro Martinez] and [Raphael] Varane – high quality players.
“Christian [Eriksen] who I played alongside for a long time, another exceptional player. Fredinho [Fred], another excellent player, then there’s Bruno [Fernandes] who plays a bit further forward, a world-class player.”
Casemiro has proved many doubters wrong this season, with many suggesting United had overpaid for him in the summer given his age.
READ MORE: Sir Alex ends Marcus Rashford debate in grim omen for Man Utd rivals
But Gary Neville still reckons he was “not a smart signing” and thinks his former club will target younger, “hungrier” players in the next few transfer windows.
“I feel like Ten Hag is not going to sign [marquee names]. If new owners come in they’re going to want to make a statement, they’ll want to blow the transfer market open. I don’t think that will suit him,” Neville said when discussing United’s summer transfer plans on The Overlap.
“I think he’ll want those younger, hungrier ones that have still got that growth rather than the finished article. Casemiro obviously defeats that a little bit, but you look at Antony and Lisandro Martinez, they’re younger and hungrier.
“I think that’s the type of player he’ll want to add to this squad rather than saying, ‘Oh, Kylian Mbappe’s available or so-and-so is available’.
“But Casemiro, there’s no doubt – we all said it by the way – £60m? £70m? And £20m-a-year [contract] for five years is a £170m investment. That is a massive investment. It’s not a smart or shrewd signing when you look at it from a [big picture] point of view. None of us thought that.
“But the impact he’s having in the short term and what Manchester United need now, he’s devastating for the club in unbelievable ways.”
