Erik ten Hag has now spoken on how Real Madrid felt about losing Casemiro following the Brazilian's big-money move to Manchester United.
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Having spent close to a decade playing and carving himself an illustrious career in the Spanish capital with Los Blancos, Casemiro decided in the off-season that it was the right time to take on a different challenge and moved to Old Trafford for an initial reported fee of €70.65 million (R1.2 billion).
His new manager, Ten Hag, has now revealed that despite letting him move to the Theatre of Dreams, Real did not want such an integral part of their recent success to go.
"You see him growing game to game and also our team is growing so we're really happy with the progress, but we have to keep that process going," the 52-year-old said to the media, as per Manchester Evening News.
"We are not satisfied and we have to keep getting better.
"He told me he needs a new challenge because at Real Madrid he won everything. He was a big part at Real Madrid and they didn't want him to go but he had the feeling 'I have to go to another club, another league to prove myself', and that shows his hunger. I really like that.
"From the first day, he has come with that attitude in every training, every match, and I really like it. He will be more and more important to our team."
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Having helped Real capture five UEFA Champions League titles during his time at the Santiago Bernabeu, it is not difficult to see why the reigning Spanish champions were reluctant to let him go, but the transfer seems to have worked out for everybody.
New signing Aurelien Tchouameni appears to be an adequate replacement for Casemiro at Real, while in Manchester, the Red Devils have not lost any of the past five league games the Brazil international has started.
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