Former Liverpool star tells Man United's Casemiro to leave for MLS or Saudi

Former Liverpool player-turned-pundit, Jamie Carragher, has given a scathing assessment of Casemiro's struggles at Manchester United since his big-money move from Real Madrid. The midfielder was deployed in a makeshift backline by manager Erik ten Hag during the 0-4 defeat toCrystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Monday (May 6)and also sported the captain's armband due to the absence of Bruno Fernandes.

The multiple times Champions League winner had a torrid time in the field as he was directly responsible for two of Palace's four goals.

"I said at half-time that he had to bring Casemiro off. I know he’s got kids on the bench but I think Casemiro, I am being deadly serious, should know himself tonight as an experienced player, that he should only have another three games at the top level, the next two league games and the cup final, and thinking I need to go the MLS or Saudi," said Carragher on Sky Sports.

Carragher added that the Brazilian needed to leave football at the highest level before his legacy was ruined.

"I am nowhere near the level of what that man achieved, but I always remember something when I retired. It was a saying I always remember as a footballer. Leave the football before the football leaves you. The football has left him at the top level. He needs to call it a day at this level of football and move."

Ten Hag defends Casemiro

Despite the criticism coming Casemiro's way, Ten Hag refused to put the blame on the midfielder, saying the team failed as a whole.

"You can’t put it on one player, it is a team performance. We did not adapt to the different situations. It’s clear, we didn’t act how we want to, it’s not good enough."

"There are always reasons, everyone could see our backline today, where we had huge problems. But at the end of the day, we have to deal with these issues and we should have done better," he added.

While Casemiro's dwindling form with age is to blame for the poor performances, he hasn't been aided by Ten Hag's tactical structure going into the matches. Often, United frontline press is disjointed from the midfield and defence, leading to longer gaps in the middle which every opposition has seemingly exploited this season.

On most instances, Ten Hag has been bailed out by individual brilliance from the likes of Fernandes or Marcus Rashford but the technical deficiencies in his tactics are being found out by good teams.

(With inputs from agencies)