Manchester United’s deal for Casemiro ended the club’s hopes of signing Declan Rice and Harry Kane.
Casemiro signed for Manchester United in a £60m deal from Real Madrid in 2022, with the Red Devils agreeing a big-money deal to sign the five-time Champions League winner.
The Brazilian impressed as the club won the League Cup and secured a top-four finish last season, but has struggled to replicate those performances so far this season.
The Athletic has now revealed how incoming minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has questioned the deal, which has contributed to the club’s Financial Fair Play concerns. After failing in a pursuit of Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong, United had been linked with signing Declan Rice from West Ham.
Though the England midfielder would have cost around £120m at that time, Rice’s wages would have been ‘significantly smaller’ than the £350,000-a-week Casemiro earns at Old Trafford. Furthermore, Rice – seven years younger than Casemiro – could have signed a longer-term contract, using amortisation to spread out the cost of the deal, and would have resale value.
Casemiro’s signing also ended hopes of signing Harry Kane from Tottenham this summer. United, it is reported, would have been unable to afford the wages of both players. Kane instead signed for Bayern Munich in a transfer worth around €100m and has since scored 21 goals in just 15 Bundesliga appearances for the German champions.
