Manchester United’s defeat to Crystal Palace provided plenty of ammunition for criticism of the club’s players and manager.
Much of this criticism is justified after the 4-0 defeat, however, there was a real pile-on, especially towards Brazil international captain Casemiro.
On Sky Sports, Jamie Carragher blasted his out of position performance and demanded the Manchester United player seek a Premier League exit at the end of the season, feeling his time as a great player has now passed him by.
Fair or not, the comments have drawn some criticism from fellow ex-professional Ian Wright, who feels Carragher was out of line.
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Ian Wright on Casemiro
Ian Wright says he believes Casemiro is a victim of Manchester United’s disorganisation and does not believe he signed for the club just for the money.
He explained, via his Wrighty’s House podcast: “Jamie mentioned him after his show about how great he was, obviously he spoke about him, maybe he should stop now, go to the MLS or Saudi, which I thought was really quite disrespectful if we are going to be totally honest.
“I think that when you look at Casemiro and what Man United have always needed in that midfield role, when he came how good he was, I don’t think for one instant, Casemiro didn’t think at this stage of his career that he would be in such a disorganised situation.
“People are constantly throwing out how much money he is earning and that, for him, in that moment, that would have been a massive bonus obviously, but to go to Man United at this stage of his career and play with those players in that stadium would have been something that would have been so hard for him to turn down.”
Wright added that while Casemiro signed for United following the team’s poor start to the 2022/23 season, there was no way he would have foreseen the team still struggling at the end of his second season.
He added that Casemiro would have thought, “there is no way you are going to see Man United in the position they are in now and him being so exposed.”
Casemiro could sign off on a high
As ‘disrespectful’ as Carragher’s comments may be, there is every chance he is absolutely right about Casemiro’s time being up.
The Brazilian has taken a big backwards step this season with his performance levels, however, a lot of the blame should be pinned on manager Erik ten Hag.
Ten Hag is choosing to operate a highly attacking system which is leaving United’s midfield and defence highly exposed.
It is likely this will be Casemiro’s final season at Old Trafford, however, this is also dependent on United finding a buyer, which won’t be easy due to his high salary.
United end the season with the FA Cup Final against rivals City, and a win would provide a perfect scenario for Casemiro and a few others to sign off on a high.
