Casemiro is set to move from Manchester United to the Saudi Pro League in January, and Cristiano Ronaldo wants him at Al-Nassr.
The ailing midfielder endured a nightmare spell in 2024 but still has 18 months left on his contract and turns 33 next month. Casemiro's performance in the recent dismal 2-0 defeat at home to Newcastle could prove to be the final nail in his coffin , with Ruben Amorim set to drop him for Sunday's encouraging 2-2 draw against Liverpool.
United put Casemiro up for sale a year ago but the Brazilian has stayed put, although Ronaldo could help his old club raise much-needed funds. The Telegraph reports that Saudi leaders want to bring five-time Champions League winner Casemiro to the Middle East and Al-Nassr is his most likely destination.
Ronaldo, who played alongside Casemiro at both Real Madrid and United, would like a reunion. His own lucrative contract with Al-Nassr expires this summer, but a tie-up with his ex-teammate could indicate the soon-to-be 40-year-old is planning to sign a new deal.
United are keen to offload Casemiro, who earns as much as £350.00 a week, and use the money from his departure to sign a new midfielder. They can't sign their desired target until he leaves Old Trafford, so it could be an anxious wait.
Elsewhere, United want to sign Paris Saint-Germain left back Nuno Mendes. The Portugal international, 22, worked with Red Devils boss Amorim at former club Sporting Lisbon, but PSG want him to stay and sign a new contract as he has also entered the final 18 months of his contract.
United will have to sell in January before they can buy to avoid the risk of financial sanctions. Amorim said of their plans last week: “If the window is open, we can try to do something and we will try to do something.”
“But I think in the coming weeks we will have more time to train and we can improve, that's the only way. We played a lot of matches without training, now we have more room to grow. You can see it that the context is worse at the moment because we have suffered a lot of losses, so we have to manage everything.”
Asked about the positions he and the Red Devils recruitment team are targeting, Amorim said: “I'll keep that to myself. But we'll try to do something.”
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