Football

Casemiro breaks down during Real Madrid farewell

Casemiro bid an emotional goodbye to Real Madrid on Monday morning following a prosperous nine-year stay with the LaLiga club. He is set to join Manchester United after Real and United agreed on a deal for the transfer of Casemiro.

The 30-year-old was the mainstay of the great Madrid side that won a trilogy of Champions League titles under Zinedine Zidane. Casemiro leaves Los Blancos as one of their most decorated stars. In total, the ace footballer has won 12 major trophies with Los Blancos.

Casemiro hailed Real Madrid and explained how the club has been like a family to him. The midfielder also thanked teammates Luka Modric and Tony Kroos for their support.

After struggling to start the speech, an emotional Casemiro said: ‘When I got here, my wife and I knew nobody. We were alone and we built our life story here in this city together. I arrived at the reserve team and I had to fight my way to the first team. I learned the values of this club while working at their academy, to be the purest part of football. I have won a lot here but I’ve always felt that the greatest honour was to come here to work every day. If I talk about teammates, I can’t talk about: Modric and Kroos. We’ve won a lot and we’ve really enjoyed playing together.’

Casemiro was highly praised by Madrid president Florentino Perez for all his contributions to the club.

“You have been exemplary every single day in all of these years here. You have earned the right to decide your future and we must respect it. You… leave the image of the champion that you are,” Perez said.

“You are going to a friendly club, the legendary Manchester United, but wherever you are you will always be an ambassador of Real Madrid. You will always be one of us. When you return one day, we will remember these moments. Thank you, Case, this is and always will be your home.” added Madrid President.

It is known that the Casemiro’s deal between Real and United has been closed at 70 million euros ($70.06 million). United fans will breathe a sigh of relief as their search for a defensive midfielder has come to an end. Erik ten Hag’s men are presently at 19th position in the Premier League having suffered humiliating losses in the first two matches. The Red Devils would hope that Casemiro’s inclusion provides a much-needed boost for the side. They will be locking horns against Liverpool on Monday night.