Ruben Amorim has overseen many turnaround stories at Manchester United, but nobody comes close to Casemiro in terms of the magnitude, the finer details of which have now been revealed.
It was around this time last year that Casemiro was being benched for Toby Collyer, a fact Ruben Amorim is only too happy to remind fringe players this season.
There was talk of Man Utd offering him to every club in the world to save on his wages, but 12 months on, the XI can’t seem to function without him in it.
After his latest performances, do you want Casemiro to sign a one-year contract extension?
Rio Ferdinand has now revealed the details of the conversation between Amorim and Casemiro, which sparked this ‘mindboggling’ turnaround.
What Casemiro told Ruben Amorim upon being benched
Only Harry Maguire comes close to what Casemiro experienced at his lowest ebb as a United player, and even then, Maguire was never told to leave football.
Casemiro has made a mockery of that remark by engineering a career turnaround at an age where most players move to calm surroundings for the last big paycheque.
Amorim recently said that Casemiro is an example to everyone for the way he trains, plays, understands the game, and conducts himself.
He would have gotten the first glimpse of it last season when he benched the Brazilian, because he did what Amorim wants from every fringe player – talk to him directly instead of posting passive-aggressive jabs on social media.
Rio Ferdinand was recently at Carrington, and he relayed the conversation Casemiro and Amorim had at the time on his YouTube channel.
Ferdinand said: “One of the things that I was told when I was [at Carrington] the other day is that he was a sub for a while in this team. He said, ‘Just tell me what I need to do to get back into the team, and I’ll do it’.
“Here we are now, and he’s one of the most integral players on the team again after being told to leave football. It’s just absolutely mindboggling.”
Amorim has given a glimpse into his man-management style
Casemiro deserves all the credit in the world for powering his turnaround, but the whole episode also gives a peek into Amorim’s man-management technique.
Has Kobbie Mainoo played his last game for Manchester United this season?
Kobbie Mainoo was left out of the squad to face Aston Villa and Ruben Amorim confirmed he has suffered an injury that could last until the January window…
It’s particularly interesting right now because Kobbie Mainoo is in a similar situation as Casemiro was, and it can be argued that the Brazilian’s situation was worse.
The contrast is clear because Amorim has been asked about Mainoo repeatedly, but he has maintained that Mainoo never spoke to him directly about his playing situation.
All this has happened while articles about Mainoo’s frustration and wanting to leave are flooding the media.
Effectively, Mainoo is doing exactly what Amorim doesn’t like – playing the media game by putting reports out there without speaking to the manager directly.
That’s not helping Mainoo’s prospects, and with Casemiro’s example, he already knows what he needs to do. Even if he can’t do what Amorim wants from him, going to him directly is the first step towards getting clarity.
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