'The football has NOT left him' - Jamie Carragher performs U-turn on Casemiro & invites 'great' Man Utd midfielder to shame his punditry skills

Almost two years after moving to Old Trafford from Real Madrid, where he was a multiple Champions League winner, Casemiro saw his performances for United put under the microscope.

He was considered to be falling well short of expectations, with the Red Devils struggling for consistency as a collective. Carragher was among those to call the midfielder out and suggest that he should be moved on by United at the earliest opportunity.

The ex-Liverpool defender said in the wake of a humbling 4-0 defeat to Crystal Palace for United: “I think Casemiro, I am being deadly serious, should know himself tonight as an experienced player that he should only have another three games at the top level, the next two league games and the cup final, and thinking, 'I need to go to the MLS or Saudi'.

“I am being deadly serious. His agent, or the people around him, need to tell him it has to stop. We are watching one of the greats in modern times, played in one of the best midfields of all time - him holding [Toni] Kroos and [Luka] Modric on either side - who could easily go up against the Barcelona midfield we all know and loved.

“I am nowhere near the level of what that man has achieved, but I always remember something when I retired. It was a saying I always remember as a footballer - 'Leave the football before the football leaves you'.”

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Casemiro, who remains at Old Trafford, is making Carragher eat his words. The 33-year-old has starred for United across a three-game winning run for interim Red Devils boss Michael Carrick that has delivered victories over Manchester City, Arsenal and Fulham.

He scored one and made another - with a no-look pass to Matheus Cunha - as United battled their way to a dramatic 3-2 victory over the Cottagers. Casemiro is impressing ahead of hitting free agency - with a summer departure from Manchester already being confirmed.

Apologetic Carragher has now told Sky Sports: “I think what Casemiro is doing at Manchester United, and he's getting a great reception as he's leaving at the end of the season, he's done the perfect type of thing you want from a signing, in that his first season was fantastic.

“So everyone thinks he's a great player, of course, he is a great player. And his last season, he's going out on a high. He's been fantastic this season, so he'll be remembered really well as well.

“I think the middle part of his time at Manchester United was a little bit of a struggle for him. But there's no doubt he's bounced back. And it is now fair to say the football has not left him, considering what he's producing this season in the Premier League. So Casemiro is well within his rights to, if he wants to come back at me and say, leave the punditry before the punditry's left you.”

Carragher added: “Credit to him, he looks a completely different player. But he looks a different player physically as well. Even when I said that, you looked at him, and he looked like an old man coming to the end of his time as a player. Whether he let himself go a little bit, or now he's been ultra professional, physically he looks completely different.”

Casemiro has helped United climb into the Premier League’s top four, as they chase down Champions League qualification. They are out of both domestic cup competitions, while having no European football on their agenda, but could see Casemiro bow out in style as he offers hope for a brighter future at Old Trafford.