“Leave the football before the football leaves you.”
Jamie Carragher’s cutting line to Manchester United midfielder Casemiro, back in 2024, was meant to be a mic-drop moment — the kind pundits dine out
on for years. Instead, it’s boomeranged spectacularly.
And Casemiro, boots firmly on, is the one having the last laugh.
Written off as yesterday’s man after a sluggish start to his Man United days, the Brazilian has ripped up the script under Michael Carrick, turning scepticism into applause and Old Trafford into a reminder of his Real Madrid prime.
United’s thrilling 3–2 win over Fulham last night was the latest — and loudest — statement.
Carrick’s side surged into a 2–0 lead, coughed it up late, and still found a way to win, Ferguson-era style. Enter Benjamin Sesko, breaking his slump with a stunning 93rd-minute winner to cap another chaotic, glorious night.
Yet the fingerprints all over the result belonged to Casemiro.
The Brazilian opened the scoring with a perfectly timed header before serving up a delicious no-look assist for Matheus Cunha to make it two.
Three wins from three under Carrick have sparked a wider revival, but few embody it more than the 32-year-old midfielder, who suddenly looks reborn.
Carragher, to his credit, held his hands up.
“It’s now fair to say, the football hasn’t left him!”
Jamie Carragher is embracing the Casemiro redemption arc 😅 pic.twitter.com/OB4tgyTI6h
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 1, 2026
“I think what Casemiro is doing at Manchester United… his first season was fantastic, and his last season, he’s going out on a high,” Carragher admitted on Sky Sports.
“There’s no doubt he’s bounced back. It is now fair to say the football has not left him.”
The Liverpool legend even conceded the ultimate reversal:
“So Casemiro is well within his rights to, if he wants to come back at me and say, ‘leave the punditry before the punditry’s left you.’”
Fair play from the sportive Carragher, who’s always up for a laugh.
Physically transformed and mentally re-energised, Casemiro has powered United back into the Premier League top four, reigniting hopes of Champions League qualification in a season otherwise stripped of cup distractions and European football.
