Casemiro admitted that he wanted to play for Manchester United against Liverpool on Monday night as he bid farewell to Real Madrid.
The Red Devils are set to complete a £60million move for the midfielder, who is expected to arrive in Manchester shortly. But the deal will not be completed in time for Casemiro to line up for Erik ten Hag's men when they face fierce rivals Liverpool.
This comes as a blow for United, who have looked poor in midfield in their opening two games of the Premier League season. If Casemiro had had his way, the deal would have been completed sooner and he would have been starting at Old Trafford.
The Brazilian revealed on Monday that he was disappointed to have missed out on making his debut against Jurgen Klopp's side. But he insisted that he feels ready to undertake a new challenge with the Red Devils.
"As you know, I don't like the spotlight or having prominence, but I will try to talk with my heart. The greatest title I have had has been to live every day at this great club .I'd like to thank the club for making me a better player and a better person," he said.
"I want to make it clear that one day I would return to Real Madrid and show you how much I love this club. I want to help the club in any way I can in the future. Now I am excited to develop at a big club like Manchester United.
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"Signing for Manchester United is a very important challenge for me — I feel like I am 18 years old, if it were up to me I would already play today against Liverpool. I want to show Manchester United fans that I’m serious about them, I will work extremely hard.
"What am I looking for? New challenges, a new club, another country, another culture. I want to help Manchester United, I want to win new things. I felt my journey here was over. Now, I join the biggest club in England.
"I'll always be a Real Madrid fan and I'll celebrate every goal. Leaving the Champions League for the Europa League? I'm going to one of the biggest teams in the world, competing with the greatness of Real Madrid."
United face the daunting challenge of taking on Liverpool, with the 4-0 humiliation at Brentford still at the forefront of their minds. The midfield options of Fred, Scott McTominay, Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes have struggled to impress so far this season.
The arrival of Casemiro represents a major coup for United, with the 30-year-old rated amongst the world's best defensive midfielders. Ten Hag certainly could have done with being able to deploy him against the expected title challengers, but will instead be forced to wait until Saturday's trip to Southampton.
