Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has said Casemiro will feel “disrespected” after the Manchester derby, as will Cristiano Ronaldo.
Erik ten Hag tried to justify his decision to leave the Brazilian on the bench, just like he did with his centre-forward.
United capitulated to rivals Man City on Sunday, losing 6-3 in a dismal display. Second-half efforts from Antony and Anthony Martial made the scoreline more palatable after Phil Foden and Erling Haaland netted hat tricks.
Man United collapsed in the first half at the Etihad on Sunday, losing four goals after just 43 minutes as defensive midfielder Casemiro watched from the bench.
He took to the pitch for a 30-minute appearance, while Ronaldo missed the whole game.
Since signing from Real Madrid for £60million plus bonuses this summer, the Brazilian has only started once for his new side, in the Europa League against Real Sociedad.
Speaking after Man United’s humiliation on the day of the derby, Ferdinand explained he was confused as to why Ten Hag refused to give Casemiro a chance given he could have prevented his side to lose so many goals against their rivals.
“The geezer didn’t have a chance, he didn’t get a fair shot,” he told his show Vibe with Five, “He came and played in a Europa League game against a dead team.
“He hasn’t started in the team when he’s fit and ready, he’s regressed in terms of fitness so he’s now worse off than when he arrived.”
“He still had to get up to speed when he moved from this league to this league,” he added.
“I wonder what impact that has on someone like him. Yes, he has experience and so on, but he must be sitting there thinking: “Wow, I’m happy to be here at Man United but I feel a bit disrespected here, given what I ‘have done”.
“I’d be surprised if he didn’t feel like that. He’s sitting there saying ‘I won five Champions Leagues with this team [Real Madrid]’.”
In response to leaving Casemiro on the bench until the 59th minute, Ten Hag justified his decision saying: “The day we signed him, we started winning and it’s the team that counts. .
“The team is doing very well, it’s not against Casemiro, it’s for, in this case, Scott McTominay, he performed very well in the team and then we went into a race.
“But I’m sure it will be important for us in the long term and in the short term, he will find himself in the team but it has to come naturally.”
The term ‘disrespect’ seems to be the buzzword coming out of the Manchester derby.
Cristiano Ronaldo was also started on the bench in the game against Man City, with Ten Hag explaining it was “out of respect for Cristiano’s career” – much to the dismay of Premier League legends Roy Keane and Graeme Souness.
And Ferdinand believes Casemiro is in the same boat as his former team-mate, and the Red Devils manager will have a task at hand trying to keep the peace between him and the stars.
“I think we’re going [see Ronaldo and Casemiro play]“, continued Ferdinand.
“But I think that’s the context of the games they play – they could play a Europa game in midweek. They won’t like it.
“These are the subplots of what Ten Hag has to deal with. That’s management, he has to manage this type of player, this type of ego, the pride that comes with this type of player.
“If you don’t play you will see a difference in the way they look at you now, and that’s what you have to deal with.”