Rio Ferdinand Plays Down Casemiro-Thomas Partey Comparison Talks As He Hails The Brazilian’s Impact At Manchester United
Oct 25, 2022 at 7:25 PM
Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has lavished praise on the club’s £70 million recruit Casemiro. The former Real Madrid midfielder is coming full circle at Old Trafford after a slow start under Erik ten Hag. However, many had raised their eyebrows over his acquisition, given he was being touted as United’s second choice to Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong who refused to join them. But the Brazilian has proved the doubters wrong by delivering back-to-back solid performances.
Casemiro’s surge has now given birth to the comparison talks between him and Arsenal’s Thomas Partey, who was subject to United’s interest before signing for the Gunners. Many Premier League fans still feel Partey is a better option than Casemiro, given his experience in England. Ferdinand has slammed those with that opinion, as the pro-turned-pundit feels there’s not even competition between the two.
Casemiro ‘many rungs’ up on Partey – Ferdinand
Casemiro’s exploits have been praised by many since the midfielder has taken this United team to a whole new level according to them. However, the same people went berserk after the Red Devils forked out £70 million on his acquisition in the closing stages of the transfer window. Many felt given his age of 30, United have committed a huge mistake by bringing him in during a time when the manager is asking for younger legs. But the 20-time Premier League champions knew they cannot fully rest their hopes of getting back to the top on the midfield duo of Fred and Scott McTominay.
And Casemiro has exactly done the job, by providing United the edge and the elite mentality they were missing. After a slow start which saw him manage meagre minutes off-the bench in his first four league outings, the former Porto midfielder has started all of United’s last four league games helping them to 2 wins and as many draws, while conceding just 2 goals. Talking about Casemiro’s coming to life at Old Trafford, Ferdinand on his YouTube channel Vibe with Five said:
“How do you [Casemiro] prove yourself with cameos of minimal minutes here and there but also why should he have to prove himself? You’re not coming into Man City, you’re not coming into Bayern Munich. You’re coming into a team that needs to improve.
“You’re brining in someone for £70million, probably £100m overall package minimum, whose won the Champions League a couple of months ago and saying ‘prove yourself to get in this team’. It’s not the Man Utd of old. It’s Europa League Man Utd. He isn’t 18-years-old. If Casemiro comes through the door has to be opened, welcome him in and play because we know what you’re bringing.”
His conversation with fellow compatriots Joel Beya and Stephen Howson further touched the hot topic of Casemiro being compared to Thomas Partey. The two have often clashed against each other from their time at Real and Atletico Madrid, and will once again find each other at crossroads with United and Arsenal respectively. While Partey’s time at the Emirates has been hampered by injuries, Ferdinand feels he come nowhere near Casemiro whose five Champions League medals speak.
As Beya claimed Casemiro lags behind the likes of Partey and his teammate Granit Xhaka, Ferdinand who burst into laughter asked him:
“If you’re going to play a game tomorrow and you’re going to play a holding midfielder, are you picking Partey over Casemiro?”
Ferdinand the replied to Beya’s ‘Yes’:
“Wow! You just keep digging, digging the grave. Listen, Partey is a really good player, he’s been really good. He’s not the right player to play holding midfielder for Man Utd. We’re talking about a player many rungs up, many rungs. It’s like saying before we had Fred and McTominay in the CDM position would you not have taken Partey? Well yes I would have but what does that prove? All I’m saying is we’re talking about Casemiro against Partey and it’s not a competition.”
Casemiro has won his duel against Partey more often than the Ghana international, but the Arsenal man has his chance to get one over his opponent now. They could now come up against each other when Arsenal welcome United in January. Partey missed the fixture at Old Trafford last month and Casemiro too came-off the bench in the 80th minute as the Red Devils punished an in-form Arsenal 3-1.