Manchester United fans think they've worked out why Jamie Carragher has been so critical of Casemiro recently.
The ex-Liverpool defender branded United's Brazilian enforcer "past his peak" and "a short term fix", despite the fact he was one of Erik ten Hag's most consistent performers last season, and fired shots at him again while reviewing the Red Devils' 2-0 defeat to Tottenham on Monday Night Football.
"As we saw last Monday night and in this game, Casemiro is being left exposed in the middle of the pitch, and he can’t cope," Carragher said.
"I was really worried about him Casemiro and the makeup of this Manchester United midfield going forward, but if we look at the statistics of midfield players playing in that sitting role, he has already been dribbled past six times, double compared to Conor Gallagher and Alexis Mac Allister, and let’s be honest, they are not holding players.
READ MORE: Man Utd fans fume as Casemiro branded 'past his peak, short-term fix' by Jamie Carragher
"You look at the other numbers of Declan Rice, Rodri, and (Yves) Bissouma, I go back to that massive problem at Manchester United in the midfield, it’s been too easy for teams going right through their midfield and I am not sure that midfield can play for Manchester United going forward."
In response, a United fan uploaded a clip of Casemiro hacking James Milner to the ground during Real Madrid's Champions League quarter-final clash with Liverpool in 2021, and suggested the pundit has had a grudge against the player because of it ever since.
"[This is] the reason why Jamie Carragher hates Casemiro," the fan wrote, "he simply can’t accept Casemiro slapped LFC in champions league quarter final."
Are Carragher's criticisms of Casemiro valid or does he have a grudge against him? Let us know in the comments section below.
Casemiro joined United from Madrid in a £70m deal last summer, signing a four contract with the option of a fifth despite being in his 30s.
Last week, Carragher likened the buy to Declan Rice's £105m move to Arsenal and Chelsea's £115m capture of Moises Caicedo and insisted that United, by comparison, were getting poor value for money, particularly given Casemiro's age.
"Caicedo and Rice are examples of thinking ahead," the 45-year-old wrote in The Telegraph. "Going big now to save cash for the next six or seven years in which they will assume their role. I never believed Casemiro would be value for money. Not because there is any doubt that he has been a world-class player. But because he is at a stage of his career when he cannot not fully repay United’s massive fee.
"He was a panic buy when he joined a year ago. An ageing, stellar name signed for big money and on a massive salary to appease increasingly disgruntled fans, despite the fact he will need replacing with a similarly massive outlay two years on."
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