INEOS must axe Man Utd flop who’s cost them over £50m in wages

Manchester United better roll up their proverbial sleeves ahead of the summer transfer window. Ruben Amorim and INEOS have a mammoth task on their hands, and it’s one which cannot afford a slip-up.

It’s looking unlikely there will be anything tangible to cheer about before the 2024/25 campaign concludes.

United are 13th in the Premier League after a wretched term that saw Erik ten Hag given the boot in October. That said, Amorim’s side are into the quarter-finals of the Europa League, preparing for Athletic Bilbao.

The Red Devils are attempting to wipe the slate clean, and while fresh faces need to be brought in across various positions on the pitch, some sales need to be enforced too, with too many overpaid stragglers still on the books.

The state of Man United’s wage bill in 2024/25

At the start of the season, Bruno Fernandes signed a new contract worth £300k-per-week, extending his stay at Old Trafford until 2027. Of all the outfit’s well-paid members, he is the most deserving of his paycheck.

However, those around him are largely stealing a living, very much a part of the problem. You will see in the table below that two of the highest earners at United are Marcus Rashford and Antony, both wingers shipped out on loan in January.

Further down the list, Christian Eriksen and Victor Lindelof combine to take £270k from the coffers each week; both players are out of a deal this summer

, neither expecting a renewal.

As you can see, there’s a player we haven’t yet addressed. He’s earning the prettiest penny of them all, and he needs to be sold this summer.

INEOS must ditch expensive flop

When Casemiro signed for Man United in a deal worth £70m in 2022, some felt it was too big a fee, with Sky Sports pundits calling it a move of “desperation”.

However, the general consensus was that one of the game’s pre-eminent midfielders had arrived to shore up Ten Hag’s midfield.

Sadly, he’s fallen by the wayside in red. Jamie Redknapp scathingly remarked that the 32-year-old “looks like he’s in Soccer Aid,” while Amorim has only started him four times in the Premier League since first benching the expensive man three games into his tenure; on nine occasions, Casemiro hasn’t even made it off the bench.

It’s clear he needs to leave this summer, freeing up invaluable space on the wage bill and serving as a statement moment in INEOS’s shaky start to life at the club, parting with one of the biggest contention points United bears. Well-known content creator Mark Goldbridge even labelled him a “waste of time.”

We’ve crunched the numbers and worked out that Casemiro has earned over £50m since leaving Spain for Greater Manchester. Combine that with the £70m fee paid for his signature, and Man United have been bled some £120m by the ageing Brazilian.

Casemiro was once a formidable force, the anchor at the heart of one of the most incredible squads in the history of the great game.

It’s clear he’s not going to return to that imperious level under Amorim’s wing, and if previous reports that he has suitors from the lucrative Saudi Pro League, Ratcliffe and his team must surely work tooth and nail to agree a deal that would see Casemiro end his time in the Premier League.