Casemiro to leave Manchester United at end of season

Midfielder Casemiro will leave Manchester United when his contract expires once the competition is over. (X/@ManUtd)

JAKARTA - Manchester United will lose experienced defensive midfielder Casemiro who left Old Trafford when his contract expires at the end of the 2025/2026 competition. The decision of the Brazilian national team player to leave was also approved by the club.

Man Utd actually has the option to extend Casemiro's contract for another year. Only, sources at the club quoted by The Sun said that Man Utd did not want to take advantage of that option. This means the club will not retain Casemiro who was brought from Real Madrid in 2022.

Man Utd's decision not to use the one-year contract extension option is inseparable from the plan to regenerate players in the water carrier position. Currently, Man Utd still has Kobbie Mainoo who changed his mind and did not leave after meeting with interim manager Michael Carrick.

In addition, there are Manuel Ugarte and Mason Mount. Even at the beginning of the season, former manager Ruben Amorim had pulled Bruno Fernandes to duet with Casemiro just because he gave a place to Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.

Even though he has a number of players who occupy the position of defensive midfielder, Casemiro is still the mainstay. Carrick still puts his trust in him. The question is the age of the midfielder who has defended Brazil 82 times is no longer young.

Next month, Casemiro, who has won the Champions League five times with Madrid, is 34. He is also the highest-paid player at the club. Currently, Casemiro receives a salary of 350 thousand pounds or around 7.9 billion rupiah every week.

By not extending Casemiro's contract, Man Utd at least reduced spending from the very large salary sector. After the club's continued decline in performance, Man Utd's value also plummeted. The club's income has declined and is currently ranked seventh.

Lost to Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal. While the first place is occupied by Madrid and followed by Barcelona. When still successful with legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson, Man Utd always competed with Madrid in terms of income.

Casemiro himself has expressed a desire to leave Man Utd when the competition ends. This also eliminates speculation that he will stay at the English Premier League club until next year.

"I will never forget Manchester United in my life," Casemiro said, quoted by The Sun.

"From the first day when I walked around this incredible stadium, I have felt the passion of Old Trafford. I really like it and I'm happy to share it with the supporters of this club," he said.

Even though he will leave, Casemiro said he would remain focused and hoped to help Man Utd achieve success, at least to reach the top four so that they can compete in the Champions League next season. In fact, he hopes to still get the most beautiful moments over the next four months

"It's not time to say goodbye. There are still memories to be created over the next four months. We will still fight together and I will be fully focused. I will give everything to help the club achieve success," said Casemiro again.

"Realizing that you want to leave, of course you want to be remembered and still be appreciated. So for the past four months I will do everything to meet the target. Respect and affection to Manchester United and the incredible fans. Red Devil forever," he said.

Casemiro, who was recruited by Man Utd while still being handled by Erik ten Hag, achieved success in his first year in the Premier League. However, his performance immediately dropped in the second year. Moreover, Casemiro then suffered an injury. He was even cut off by Ten Hag in the 2024 FA Cup final when Man Utd beat Manchester City 2-1.

Casemiro himself led Man Utd to win the English League Cup and the FA Cup. However, he failed in the 2025 Europa League final and the Community Shield.