Last week, Gigi Becali, the outspoken and polarizing owner of FCSB, expressed his anger over what he considered to be spineless strategies employed by his coach during the match against Manchester United in the Europa League. As Becali was leaving the National Arena car park, he rolled down his window to express his frustrations to the media, condemning Ilias Charalampous for fielding an overly defensive team. The turning point for Becali may have been watching Casemiro enter the game with just 18 minutes remaining. It represented the pinnacle of United’s ease in Bucharest, indicating that a match they were controlling had concluded. Typically, substituting in a five-time Champions League victor would suggest that United were struggling, but this Casemiro is notably different from the highly successful one at Real Madrid. The only playing time he has had in 2025 was during the match against FCSB, and as United struggled against Crystal Palace on Sunday, the Brazilian found himself back on the bench as an unused substitute. This scenario has persisted in seven of the last eight matches since a disastrous 64 minutes against Newcastle, which seemingly marked the end of his career at Old Trafford and potentially at the top levels of European football. Casemiro’s situation has deteriorated to the point where even the Saudi Pro League is losing interest in him. This is surprising for a 32-year-old player with an impressive résumé in European football. During his inaugural season at United, he had a significant influence, providing essential stability to the midfield and serving as a leader within the locker room. Everything began to unravel from that point. Casemiro’s performance dropped sharply last season, and despite a momentary glimpse of improvement earlier this season, he has now been sidelined. He is currently sitting on the bench mainly to fill positions and may get some playtime at the end of the match, but it is difficult to envision how he could secure a significant starting role under Ruben Amorim. The United head coach has reached a conclusion about Casemiro, thinking that the current pace and physicality of the game may be too challenging for a player whose decline seems quicker than one would expect for his age. “Sometimes it depends on the system – at other times, it’s about the player’s [form],” Amorim stated to TNT Sports prior to the FCSB match. “We recognize that Casemiro has different attributes now.”
