There is a succession plan in place in all three midfield positions. By the following season, Ivan Helguera had already moved to center-back permanently, Cambiasso was sold, and Guti was far from a defensive midfielder. When Makelele left the club, there were a total of two central midfielders in the squad: Esteban Cambiasso and Guti. What is certain: This is not a repeat of the Claude Makelele sale in 2003. Time will tell how the Frenchman will cope in that role - whether he’ll swim or float. With Casemiro gone, Tchouameni needs to be accelerated and thrown into the fire. The question begs now: Was the 70m(ish) worth going into next season with a weaker squad? Tchouameni is good, but was expected to be the protégé while Casemiro hangs around for at least a couple years to help with the transition. (How he fits into Erik ten Hag’s build-out-of-the-back philosophy is a different issue, but one we don’t need to get into now.)įor Real Madrid, they receive around €72m (plus a good €13m in variables) for a 30-year-old - essentially funding the player they signed as his future regimen, 22-year-old Aurelien Tchouameni.
Manchester United, in turn, receive the best ball-winner in Europe of this generation, and someone to fix some of their defensive transition issues. Casemiro will net some €12m after taxes - not quite ‘double’ his salary of around €7m at Real Madrid, but a pretty significant uptick none-the-less.
It has always been this way, even since the ‘40s, when the club parted ways with their first true superstar, Pahiño, in a similar situation - hedging their bets instead on a younger Alfredo di Stefano.īy Friday, the Casemiro deal had concluded, in what was a win-win-win. But meeting Manchester United’s salary was never an option, and handing out big contracts to 30-year-olds has never been a Real Madrid philosophy. And once Real Madrid have a player that wants to leave, they will always work with them to find a solution.Ĭould Real Madrid have done more to keep him? Sure, they could’ve budged a little. Separation seemed impossible.īut as the hours passed, reports in Spain started to catch wind of what was happening, and by the next day, it became more real: Casemiro was not only open to Manchester United’s offer, but welcomed it. United were a mess: a destination stars are trying to escape, and a far cry from the culture and state implemented at the monolith of the 14-time Champions League winners.Ĭasemiro, a serial winner, was part of a family - a special banded brotherhood. When news initially broke out on Wednesday that Casemiro was set to get an offer from Manchester United, it was easy to brush off. In this week’s column, we look at the Casemiro transfer, how the team can cope without him, and more, including a massive tactical note dump from August: A tribute to Casemiro, and a nuanced look at his transferĬasemiro’s Real Madrid CV: Three FIFA Club World Cup titles, five Champions League titles, three La Liga titles, three UEFA Super Cup titles, first in successful pressure percentage in La Liga (2021 - 2022), first in tackles win in La Liga (2019 - 2020), third in tackles won in the top-five major leagues (2019 - 2020), second in interceptions in La Liga (2020 - 2021), third in blocks in La Liga (2019 - 2020). These observations - where I look at Real Madrid ’s history, its players on loan, Castilla, tactical tidbits, and other relevant thoughts - are now a regular thing.
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