Casemiro has revealed Carlo Ancelotti’s emotional reaction to his departure from Real Madrid by asking him to reconsider joining Manchester United..
The Red Devils splashed out £60m to sign the midfielder in 2022 – just months after winning his fifth Champions League title with Los Blancos.
United fans quickly turned their attention to the Brazilian, who scored seven goals in his first season, including in the Carabao Cup final victory over Newcastle.
But the 32-year-old said he almost made a U-turn on his decision to move to Old Trafford at the eleventh hour following his farewell chat with Ancelotti.
Speaking to Chiringuito de Jugones, he said: “I had won everything. It’s not that I wasn’t going to keep attacking, but I wanted to try new things.
“They didn’t let me go so easily, but I wanted to learn a new language and play in another league. United had behaved very respectfully from day one.
“I decided to leave for a bit after winning the Champions League. I could already see that my time in Madrid was over, I was at the right age to leave and I wanted to continue growing.
“The decision wasn’t easy at all, people loved me. I only had doubts once. In fact, I’m going to tell you something here that I’ve never told anyone .
“I only had one moment where I doubted leaving Madrid for Manchester United.
“I remember it was a Friday and almost everything was done, the only thing missing was my signature and I just had to take my medical. But it was already done.
“I went to speak to the gentleman [Ancelotti] because I was supposed to work out, but I couldn’t work out [because the transfer was imminent]. People knew the transfer was over, but I still had to be there.
“And so I went to speak to Ancelotti and he already knew I was leaving. I walked into his office and when he turned around I saw he was crying. Ancelotti was crying.
“And I’m like, ‘Why are you crying? No, you can’t cry.’ And Carlo told me that he didn’t want me to leave and that he loved me very much, and at that moment I doubted [the move] and I realized how many people love me here.
“But I had already committed to it, I had given my word [to United] and my word is more important than anything. But it was the only time.”
Despite playing in his first season in England, Casemiro has struggled for consistency this season, leading Jamie Redknapp to label his final display against Bournemouth a ‘Soccer Aid’ performance.
Yet the player has no regrets about his time in the Premier League when asked how he is enjoying his time at United.
He said: “Very good, phenomenal. Everything is going very well, everything is perfect.
“The Premier League is amazing, it’s very nice to play there. My family’s adaptation is also going well. Everything is fine.”
Casemiro has revealed Carlo Ancelotti’s emotional reaction to his departure from Real Madrid by asking him to reconsider joining Manchester United..
The Red Devils splashed out £60m to sign the midfielder in 2022 – just months after winning his fifth Champions League title with Los Blancos.
United fans quickly turned their attention to the Brazilian, who scored seven goals in his first season, including in the Carabao Cup final victory over Newcastle.
But the 32-year-old said he almost made a U-turn on his decision to move to Old Trafford at the eleventh hour following his farewell chat with Ancelotti.
Speaking to Chiringuito de Jugones, he said: “I had won everything. It’s not that I wasn’t going to keep attacking, but I wanted to try new things.
“They didn’t let me go so easily, but I wanted to learn a new language and play in another league. United had behaved very respectfully from day one.
“I decided to leave for a bit after winning the Champions League. I could already see that my time in Madrid was over, I was at the right age to leave and I wanted to continue growing.
“The decision wasn’t easy at all, people loved me. I only had doubts once. In fact, I’m going to tell you something here that I’ve never told anyone .
“I only had one moment where I doubted leaving Madrid for Manchester United.
“I remember it was a Friday and almost everything was done, the only thing missing was my signature and I just had to take my medical. But it was already done.
“I went to speak to the gentleman [Ancelotti] because I was supposed to work out, but I couldn’t work out [because the transfer was imminent]. People knew the transfer was over, but I still had to be there.
“And so I went to speak to Ancelotti and he already knew I was leaving. I walked into his office and when he turned around I saw he was crying. Ancelotti was crying.
“And I’m like, ‘Why are you crying? No, you can’t cry.’ And Carlo told me that he didn’t want me to leave and that he loved me very much, and at that moment I doubted [the move] and I realized how many people love me here.
“But I had already committed to it, I had given my word [to United] and my word is more important than anything. But it was the only time.”
Despite playing in his first season in England, Casemiro has struggled for consistency this season, leading Jamie Redknapp to label his final display against Bournemouth a ‘Soccer Aid’ performance.
Yet the player has no regrets about his time in the Premier League when asked how he is enjoying his time at United.
He said: “Very good, phenomenal. Everything is going very well, everything is perfect.
“The Premier League is amazing, it’s very nice to play there. My family’s adaptation is also going well. Everything is fine.”