Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has spoken out on his reaction when Casemiro told him he was leaving the club to join Manchester United in this summer’s transfer window.
The Red Devils brought in Casemiro in an exciting big-money move this season, with the Brazil international moving to Old Trafford after a great career at the Bernabeu.
Kroos and Casemiro played together for many years and enjoyed a lot of success in Madrid’s midfield, and the experienced Germany international now admits that he was saddened to hear that his old team-mate would be moving on.
“I was surprised that Casemiro left. It is true that there were rumours but there are always rumours and often nothing happens,” Kroos Universo Valdano on Spanish TV, as quoted and translated by the Manchester Evening News.
“But when he told me he was leaving, I was sad, I started to remember all the years I spent with him and all we achieved together.”
One imagines there were plenty of others at the La Liga club who felt the same, with Casemiro likely to be a difficult player to replace, even if the signing of Aurelien Tchouameni earlier in the summer should go some way to repairing the damage.
Casemiro didn’t initially start many games for United but has shown himself to be a key part of the team in more recent matches.