São Paulo football executive Rui Costa has claimed Casemiro will not be moving back to his boyhood club when he leaves Manchester United at the end of the season. The 33-year-old’s contract will expire in the summer. United have the option to extend his stay by a further 12 months but have decided not to trigger the clause.
In order to end the speculation over his future, the Brazil international requested to bring forward his exit announcement. Reflecting on his time at Old Trafford, he said: “I will carry Manchester United with me throughout my entire life.
“From the first day that I walked out at this beautiful stadium, I felt the passion of Old Trafford and the love that I now share with our supporters for this special club. It is not time to say goodbye; there are many more memories to create during the next four months.
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“We still have a lot to fight for together; my complete focus will, as always, remain on giving my everything to help our club to succeed.”
With Casemiro set to become a free agent, he is now allowed to sign a pre-contract agreement with any team outside of England. In an interview this weekend, Costa confirmed one of the São Paulo players had contacted Casemiro about potentially returning to Brazil. “We were one afternoon talking about it and one of our important players sent a message to Casemiro,” Costa explained to Arnaldo e Tironi.
“Who wouldn’t like to have Casemiro in their team, right? I would.
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“He immediately replied saying that his project was not to return to Brazil, that his project was to remain in another market.”
Despite one of his players making an enquiry, Costa insisted no offer was presented to Casemiro. “Does that mean Sao Paulo made a proposal for Casemiro? No,” he confirmed.
“Sao Paulo did not make a proposal for Casemiro and it would not, in my view, be prudent to do so without having a clear picture of how our squad would look. There was no proposal, there was no formal enquiry. It was through an important person in the group who sent him a message.”
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