Casemiro's Plea for Neymar's Return to Brazil

Casemiro knows exactly what he wants next.

Not a Manchester United U-turn. Not another season grinding through the Premier League. He wants one more shot at the biggest stage with Brazil – and he wants Neymar there with him.

Casemiro’s clear message: “We don’t have another Neymar”

Speaking on the Rio Ferdinand Presents YouTube channel, the 34-year-old midfielder cut through the noise and went straight to the point: Brazil, in his eyes, cannot afford to leave Neymar at home.

Neymar has not played for the Seleção since tearing the anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his left knee two-and-a-half years ago. The country’s record goalscorer then needed minor surgery on the same knee late last year, followed by another procedure during the March international break. For a long time, his international career looked frozen in place.

Now the picture is different.

Neymar left Al-Hilal almost 18 months ago, returned to Santos, and has quietly pieced his career back together. Goals in back-to-back games have come at exactly the right moment, just days before Carlo Ancelotti is due to name his Brazil squad.

Casemiro sees the timing, and he sees the opportunity.

“My decision, yes, but (the) decision you need to (make) first is (tell him), ‘hey, Neymar, you don't play every game,’” he told Ferdinand, arguing that Neymar’s role should be recalibrated rather than discarded.

For Casemiro, the key is how Brazil use him, not whether he still belongs.

“He plays every game. For me, it's not perfect for him,” he said, suggesting a more selective, decisive role. “I think he comes, and the game is not finished, the game is new, new. And (contributing) a special assist, a special goal is (the role) for him.”

Ferdinand summed it up simply: “He could change the game.”

Casemiro did not hesitate: “Yeah, change the game, and we don't have this player in this moment, we don't have, so, for me, in my opinion (yes), but it's Ancelotti's decision.”

In a Brazil squad stacked with talent but still searching for a true game-breaker, Casemiro believes Neymar remains the one player who bends a match to his will.

A ‘special’ bond with Ancelotti

That plea carries more weight because of who Casemiro is speaking to – and who he’s speaking about.

Carlo Ancelotti did not just coach him at Real Madrid; he revived his international career. The Italian brought Casemiro back into the Brazil fold last year after a spell out of the picture that mirrored Neymar’s absence.

Asked about that relationship, Casemiro’s tone shifted from analytical to personal.

“I have good, very good feelings with him,” he said. “He's my friend, he's my friend. I know what he likes, what he doesn't like, I know everything. I've known Ancelotti for a long time, he's (been) my friend for a long time, so I know sometimes I push here, I don't push here, I know everything about Ancelotti.”

This is not the usual polite praise players offer former managers. Casemiro went further, placing Ancelotti among the giants of his era.

“Ancelotti is in the top three in the world. In the last 15 years, he's (been) the best. He's the best, so Ancelotti is not just my manager, he's my friend.”

Pressed on what makes the Italian so different, Casemiro pointed to something simple but powerful – the way Ancelotti deals with players as people first.

“For me, the first thing is (that) he talks about what the players like to lose. You know? What the players like. 'I give you one thing, you give me this.'”

He then widened the lens. A great man-manager is not enough.

“It's impossible to win with just a good manager, you need a good tactic, tactical. You need to know about this; it's impossible to have just one good thing. For winning trophies, you need everything, but for me, the best thing is a very good manager, he understands the players.”

That understanding is what Casemiro is banking on now – that Ancelotti will trust his senior core and see the value in a carefully managed Neymar.

No way back at United

While he talks about Brazil with energy and conviction, Casemiro is equally decisive about his club future. His time at Old Trafford, he insists, is over.

The midfielder will leave as a free agent this summer, and he has already made it clear there will be no late change of heart. He revealed earlier this month that the decision to go was taken at the start of the calendar year and has not shifted since.

Speaking to ESPN, he shut down any suggestion of a U-turn.

“I don't think there's a chance, there's no chance, mostly because of what I said, you know? Go out the big door.”

He reflected on his spell at United with warmth rather than regret.

“I think it was four beautiful, wonderful years, and I am eternally grateful not only to the club, but to the fans, but I think I have to leave on good terms, I have to go out on top. I will be an eternal United fan here in England, and I just have to thank all the love from the fans.”

For a player who built his reputation on control and timing in midfield, the logic is familiar. Leave before the legs go. Leave before the story turns sour.

One last act with Brazil?

Casemiro now stands at a rare crossroads. Free of club commitments, he can choose his next manager, his next project, his next league. But his words make it clear: the horizon he’s staring at most intently is painted yellow and green.

He wants to walk into that Brazil dressing room again under a manager he calls a friend, with Neymar back in the mix as the wild card off the bench, the man for the “special assist, a special goal.”

If Ancelotti agrees, Brazil’s World Cup campaign could be shaped by a familiar trio: the veteran coach, his trusted midfield lieutenant, and the country’s most mercurial talent of the modern era.

Casemiro has made his move. The next one belongs to Ancelotti – and to Neymar’s rebuilt knee.