Casemiro: Manchester United Star Opens Up on How He Became a Midfielder

• Casemiro is one of the most accomplished defensive midfielders of all time
• The Brazilian won it all at Real Madrid before joining Manchester United in 2022
• He did not start his career in midfield and has explained how he transitioned

Football could have been denied the excellence of Casemiro in midfield if not for a transition during his youth days, which the player has explained why he did it.

Casemiro is one of the best and most accomplished defensive midfielders ever, forming one of the best midfield trio with Luka Modric and Toni Kroos at Real Madrid.

The trio won it all together, including five UEFA Champions League trophies, before the Brazilian left Spain and moved to England with Manchester United in a deal worth £70 million, as reported by Sky Sports.

How Casemiro became a midfielder

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Footballers go through many phases in their youth days before settling on a position fuelled mainly by the desire to adapt to make a breakthrough, and Casemiro is one of such.

Speaking to MUTV, he disclosed he started his career as a striker in Sao Paulo, but each time he is moved up to play with an older age group, he plays in midfield.

"I had a knack for this. When I moved to Sao Paulo, there were 300 players there and it was a trial scenario, he said.

"So you go there and they were like, 'who's a goalkeeper?' Three people put their hands up - nobody wants to go in goal. 'Who plays at right-back?' Ten people. 'Who's a forward?' 100 hands go up - everybody wants to score goals.

"I looked around, assessed things and said, 'I won't play up front'. 'Who plays in central midfield?' So I put my hand up, I'll play there, I'll do it."

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Ratcliffe questions Casemiro's signing

The decision to shell out £70mil and hand over a four-year contract worth £350,000 per week to a 30-year-old was frowned upon by fans, but his first season performances quieten the critics.

As reported by The Guardian, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is pushing to buy a 25% stake in the club and take over sporting decisions, was also said to have questioned the transfer, and this could spell the end of the road for Casemiro at Old Trafford.

Drogba's path to football

Elsewhere, Sports Brief reported that Drogba began his career at right-back and registered as an accountant in case he did not make it as a professional footballer.

He completed his education before turning to football. His uncle, whom he stayed with in France, instigated a position change. Otherwise, his career could have been one of the many who didn't hit the limelight.