Erik Ten Hag, manager of Manchester United, has revealed that Casemiro, the Brazilian star, would have been the third choice to captain United against Aston Villa but was passed over due to his lack of English.
The Dutch manager considered giving Casemiro the Red Devils captain’s armband for his leadership qualities but instead passed it on to Cristiano Ronaldo, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, due to his fluency in English.
After a turbulent summer in which he made little effort to disguise his desire to leave the club and his decision to walk down the tunnel before the final whistle against Tottenham last month, many sports fans were surprised when Ronaldo was named United’s captain for the match against Aston Villa.
Because backup captain Bruno Fernandes was suspended and usual captain Harry Maguire was on the bench, the Portuguese star was named captain.
Ronaldo was named captain in an attempt to inspire his teammates with his exceptional performance on the field, but he and the team were defeated by Villa.
After United suffered its fourth Premier League defeat of the season, the Dutch manager defended his decision to make Ronaldo captain.
Harry Maguire is on the bench, our captain of the club. Then it is about David de Gea who is a leader but is a goalie and is far away from the outfield, Ten Hag said.
Then Casemiro is the leader but he is not speaking perfect English so then Cristiano is the leader. added the Dutchman.