Casemiro admits he was taken aback after joining Man Utd: “I’m going to be very honest”
Manchester United midfielder Casemiro has revealed that he was left “really surprised” by Marcus Rashford upon his arrival at Old Trafford – and has backed his teammate to reach the pinacle of the game.
The Brazilian midfielder completed a £50million move from Real Madrid to become a Red Devil in the summer and has made a profound impact. The 30-year-old has made 23 appearances for the club since and has very quickly established himself as a key player under Erik ten Hag.
One of United’s other star performers this season has been forward Rashford. The England star has already scored on 11 occasions – more than double the amount of times he found the net last term.
Following his latest match-winning performance against Wolves on Saturday, Rashford was the subject of plenty of praise from Casemiro. The Brazilian stated that his teammate could soon be considered among the best players in the world, despite not having believed that before he joined United from Los Blancos.
Speaking to ESPN Brasil after the Red Devils’ victory at Molineux, he said: “I’m gonna be very honest with you; I was really surprised with the player Rashford is.
“In my opinion, especially knowing the player off the pitch, I can tell you that if he’s doing well, he can be one of the top five players in the world. He has an incredible way of hitting the ball, he’s got strength, he’s quick, is very clever playing.
“He was one of the players that really surprised me. Of course, when you play in a different league you already know the player, but when you’re in the same club every day.”
Casemiro added on Rashford: “What a spectacular player. I’m enjoying so much playing with him. He gives us a lot of energy. I’m delighted to play with him. And I’m sure if he stays like this, with the conditions he has, he can easily be a top-five player because he’s exceptional.”
Despite hitting the winner in the Midlands, it wasn’t initially a positive day for Rashford, who was after being dropped to the bench by boss Ten Hag having missed a team meeting due to oversleeping. Casemiro was not the only member of the Red Devils squad to have praised the England striker come the final whistle, though.
Club and England teammate Luke Shaw hailed him for his reaction and had a similar assessment to the Brazilian midfielder. Speaking to BT Sport, he said of Rashford: “He’s in a really good way at the moment, extremely confident, very positive and very happy, and it’s nice to see.
“Everyone knows the qualities he’s got, he’s world class and he can be one of the best in the world if he keeps going and hopefully he does do that.”
