Casemiro delivered a man of the match performance for Manchester United in the Carabao Cup final to lead the team to a 2-0 win over Newcastle.
The Brazilian was named in the FIFPro XI a day later, attending a star studded awards ceremony in Paris, before being welcomed back by his impressed teammates.
He has impressed with his attitude and hunger for success, demonstrating he has not just come to United for a late career payday.
At 31, Casemiro still has plenty left to offer and Manchester United are suddenly the envy of the Premier League thanks to his consistently impressive performances, and he is making a few pundits eat their words too.
‘So wrong’ over Casemiro, says pundit
Casemiro cost Manchester United a fee of £60 million back in August, and there were some who questioned his motivations.
One of these was former Tottenham and QPR manager Tim Sherwood, who has now admitted he was very wrong.
Speaking to The Kelly & Wrighty Show on Premier League Productions after Manchester United’s Carabao Cup win, Sherwood expressed his admiration for the five-times Champions League winner.
He said: “When first come, I thought he’s came to Man United to fill the till up. He’s done everything at Real Madrid he can’t possibly have the hunger.
“I was so wrong, so wrong. When that equaliser he scored at Stamford Bridge you saw the way he celebrated with Man United fans, from that moment onwards I knew this boy was the real deal.
“He’s incredible. He puts out fires, any sorts of danger he puts it out, but he can also play.”
Sherwood went on to add: “Someone coming in with that desire at his age, you have to take your hat off to him.”
There cannot be any doubters left at this point, and after his success at Real Madrid, there should not have been any in the first place.
But after watching Bastian Schweinsteiger rock up at Manchester United with a stunning CV and a shadow of his former self many years ago, it’s understandable why there are sometimes doubts about big name stars heading to Old Trafford in the latter stages of their careers.
The difference with Casemiro is he was a reigning Champions League winner and integral player for Brazil, and still young enough to have a good four or five years left in him at the top level.
We just hope he can continue playing like this as long as possible. Casemiro is playing a major role in helping to rejuvenate United, and at this rate, he will get a chance to star for the club in the Champions League next season too.
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