Casemiro can trigger his extra year at Manchester United by starting a certain number of games this season.
The 33-year-old would automatically see his contract extended to 2027, at his current salary, were he to hit the target, believed to be 35 starts in all competitions.
The figure is high in a campaign when United have no European involvement and were knocked out in the first round of both cup competitions — meaning a total of 40 games for the club, the lowest in a completed campaign since 1914-15. But Casemiro could still, just, meet the terms.
The Brazilian has started 18 times this season, all in the Premier League, so would need to feature in every line-up from now until the end of the campaign, with United only having 17 more games.
He stayed on the bench at Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup, and only got the final 11 minutes as a substitute against Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup due to rotation, while in the Premier League, he missed the defeats at Brentford and Aston Villa through suspension.
Casemiro arrived as a late substitute in the loss to Manchester City in September, having played 66 minutes for Brazil against Chile in Rio de Janeiro the week prior.
But other than those three games, the midfielder has been one of the first names on the teamsheet in the Premier League under Ruben Amorim, who consistently left out Manuel Ugarte and Kobbie Mainoo.
Casemiro has scored four goals this term, in the wins over Chelsea and Brighton and draws with Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth, starting just two of United’s losses — at home to Arsenal and Everton.
The deal that took Casemiro from Real Madrid to Old Trafford in August 2022 has been highly criticised internally by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who invested in United in December 2023.
United agreed to pay Real £60million (now $80.7m) plus £10m in potential add-ons, although these will not be realised, it is thought, due to them pertaining to Premier League and Champions League triumphs.
Casemiro agreed personal terms of £350,000 per week, although his wages have fallen to below £300,000 this season and last due to the cut that is standard across United’s squad for failure to reach the Champions League.
Should Casemiro meet his target for starts and United qualify for the Champions League, he would automatically go back up to his full salary, worth more than £18m, for the final year on his contract. But this is regarded by people close to United as highly unlikely.
The club hold the option to extend Casemiro’s stay by a year regardless of how many starts he makes or could negotiate a fresh deal on a lower wage, but there is no indication they will do either at present.
It remains to be seen whether circumstances fall in Casemiro’s favour. Darren Fletcher started Casemiro at Burnley but left him out of the Brighton game, where United’s exit made his chances of triggering his plus one very slim.
Michael Carrick’s appointment looks to allow an extra midfielder compared to Amorim’s system, seemingly Bruno Fernandes at No 10, with Casemiro, Ugarte, and Mainoo battling it out for the deeper positions.