Casemiro - a football addict who can add balance to Man United, but will he leave Madrid?

Manchester United are trying to sign Brazilian midfielder Casemiro from Real Madrid.

The English club are believed to be prepared to pay around €70 million for one of the stars of Real Madrid’s recent success stories. The 63-cap Brazil international has been perfectly happy at Madrid, where he has an excellent relationship with manager Carlo Ancelotti, who considers him one of his main allies in the dressing room. Ancelotti even apologised to him for getting him wrong in his first spell in Madrid, when he loaned the player to Porto.

Casemiro, who moved to Madrid in 2013, has three years left on his Madrid contract - a figure sources tell The National amounts to €5 million-per-year after taxes for the 30-year-old. But it is up to Casemiro to get his head around the idea of his time at Madrid being over. United’s offer is believed to be substantially more than his current deal and his contract would run for four years.

Man-of-the-match in Madrid’s recent Uefa Super League success against Eintracht Frankfurt (Casemiro always starts his pre-season alone in Brazil with a trainer and physio), his club had no intention of selling him, but accept that their side is entering a new phase, with young French midfielders Eduardo Camavinga, 19, and Aurelien Tchouameni, 22, seen as the future in Casemiro’s midfield position.

Asked after last week’s Super Cup success if the arrival of Tchouameni for a fee that could grow to €100 million has stung Casemiro, Ancelotti, who has been affectionate with his Brazilian recently, said: “I have not asked him. The match wasn't complicated because he has watched the offensive transitions very well. Tchouameni is going to learn a lot and is going to improve a lot with Casemiro”.

Zinedine Zidane has a similarly high opinion of Casemiro and that’s why Madrid are reluctant to let legendary names go, but their departure is easier to explain to fans if the offer for them is significant and they are encouraged by how they have prospered after the departures of Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane. They won the Champions League a year after those last two departed, and change is coming. Casemiro is at his best alongside Toni Kroos, 32, and Luca Modric, who turns 37 next month - the base in Madrid’s Bermuda triangle.

United have yet to contact Real Madrid, but the player and his agents are aware of United’s interest. They are not quashing it. It would be for the player to accept United’s offer and then tell Madrid not to demand a prohibitive figure to sell him, as Madrid did when Internazionale tried to sign Luca Modric five years ago. The National understands that Casemiro has yet to decide. One key factor is if Casemiro feels that he’s going to be a key starter for Madrid in the next two or three years, as he is now.

United have wanted a defensive midfielder all summer, and Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong was the No 1 target. But despite the two clubs agreeing a fee for the Dutch midfielder the 25-year-old has shown no inclination to join United and has always preferred to stay at Barca. United switched attention to the Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot but were put off by his excessive wage demands where he wanted to be paid more than any other player apart from Ronaldo. That would have been negated by a lower transfer fee since Rabiot is out of contract next year.

Now, Casemiro is the subject of United’s attention. The player, an international colleague of United midfielder Fred, is obsessed by tactics and self-improvement. He studies his own game using Wyscout, analysing his performances in detail. He studied Kylian Mbappe ahead of a game against Paris Saint-Germain and, in the actual match, correctly anticipated what he was going to do. He talks to Ancelotti about tactics. Their wives watch Madrid games together at the Bernabéu.

Real Madrid's head coach Carlo Ancelotti speaks with Casemiro after winning the Uefa Super Cup final on August 10, 2022. AP Photo

“Case is already a coach,” a friend of the player told El Pais recently. “Ancelotti sees the Brazilian as the type of footballer he was, with great effort for the team accompanied by technical quality.”

Casemiro is a football addict, a man who cut short his own family holiday in Florida because he was concerned after Madrid lost a friendly against Atletico when he was supposed to be resting after winning the Copa America with Brazil. He’s often the first player to turn up to Madrid’s Valdebebas training ground and the last to leave. He’s reached the top for several reasons and one is his very Brazilian diet of feijoada (beans with salted pork), along with by rice and oranges. Rodrygo, his compatriot at Madrid, thinks Casemiro helped change the image of Brazilian footballers being lazy.

He’s slower than he was but considered more intelligent as a player. A key player for Madrid, Casemiro has won five Champions Leagues with Madrid, three Spanish league titles, one Copa del Rey, two Uefa Super Cups and three Fifa World Club Cups.

United felt they were played by some of Madrid’s stars in past transfer windows, such as when Ramos’ representatives contacted the club saying he was available only to use United’s interest as a ploy in negotiations with Paris Saint-Germain. But in this case, United have made the approach for a player they think will bring balance. Whether he wants to remains to be seen.

150 summer transfers - in pictures

How to help or find other cats to adopt

There are many that often look for volunteers or other types of assistance. They include:

Animal Welfare Abu Dhabi

Sandy Paws

Abu Dhabi Animal Shelter

Feline Friends Abu Dhabi

Animal Action UAE

Yanni Animal Welfare

Middle East Animal Foundation

Rescue Animals in Need United Arab Emirates

Ras Al Khaimah Animal Welfare Centre

UAQAC Umm Al Quwain Animal Care

RESULTS

Catchweight 82kg
Piotr Kuberski (POL) beat Ahmed Saeb (IRQ) by decision.

Women’s bantamweight
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) beat Cornelia Holm (SWE) by unanimous decision.

Welterweight
Omar Hussein (PAL) beat Vitalii Stoian (UKR) by unanimous decision.

Welterweight
Josh Togo (LEB) beat Ali Dyusenov (UZB) by unanimous decision.

Flyweight
Isaac Pimentel (BRA) beat Delfin Nawen (PHI) TKO round-3.

Catchweight 80kg
Seb Eubank (GBR) beat Emad Hanbali (SYR) KO round 1.

Lightweight
Mohammad Yahya (UAE) beat Ramadan Noaman (EGY) TKO round 2.

Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) beat Reydon Romero (PHI) submission 1.

Welterweight
Juho Valamaa (FIN) beat Ahmed Labban (LEB) by unanimous decision.

Featherweight
Elias Boudegzdame (ALG) beat Austin Arnett (USA) by unanimous decision.

Super heavyweight
Maciej Sosnowski (POL) beat Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) by submission round 1.

Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier

Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman

The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August

Group A

Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar

Group B

UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia

UAE group fixtures

Sunday Feb 23, 9.30am, v Iran

Monday Feb 25, 1pm, v Kuwait

Tuesday Feb 26, 9.30am, v Saudi

UAE squad

Ahmed Raza, Rohan Mustafa, Alishan Sharafu, Ansh Tandon, Vriitya Aravind, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Basil Hameed, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Ayaz, Zahoor Khan, Chirag Suri, Sultan Ahmed

Contracted list

Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine, Matt Renshaw, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye.

While you're here

Malaysia crowns Pahang state's Sultan Abdullah as 16th king

Sheikh Mohamed receives Malaysian king in Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Mohamed and the King of Malaysia in 1979

Crazy Rich Asians

Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeon, Gemma Chan

Four stars

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5

While you're here

Watch: Davos 2021 panel discusses the future of work for women

Alice Haine: Investing in gender parity 'makes good business sense'

Kareem Shaheen: How the pandemic could set Arab women back

Simon Rushton: Home schooling forces UK mothers to quit jobs

Mountain%20Boy

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Super Bowl LIII schedule

What Super Bowl LIII

Who is playing New England Patriots v Los Angeles Rams

Where Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, United States

When Sunday (start time is 3.30am on Monday UAE time)

The five new places of worship

Church of South Indian Parish

St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch

St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch

St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais

Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais

Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE

Join parent networks
Look beyond school fees
Keep an open mind

Our commentary on Brexit

Alistair Burt: Despite Brexit, Britain can remain a world power
Sam Williams: Departure is influenced by its sense of place

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League quarter-final (first-leg score):

Juventus (1) v Ajax (1), Tuesday, 11pm UAE

Match will be shown on BeIN Sports

Also on December 7 to 9, the third edition of the Gulf Car Festival (www.gulfcarfestival.com) will take over Dubai Festival City Mall, a new venue for the event. Last year's festival brought together about 900 cars worth more than Dh300 million from across the Emirates and wider Gulf region – and that first figure is set to swell by several hundred this time around, with between 1,000 and 1,200 cars expected. The first day is themed around American muscle; the second centres on supercars, exotics, European cars and classics; and the final day will major in JDM (Japanese domestic market) cars, tuned vehicles and trucks. Individuals and car clubs can register their vehicles, although the festival isn’t all static displays, with stunt drifting, a rev battle, car pulls and a burnout competition.

As it stands in Pool A

1. Japan - Played 3, Won 3, Points 14

2. Ireland - Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1, Points 11

3. Scotland - Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1, Points 5

Remaining fixtures

Scotland v Russia – Wednesday, 11.15am

Ireland v Samoa – Saturday, 2.45pm

Japan v Scotland – Sunday, 2.45pm

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.

8. Pillar 2 implementation

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

'Champions'

Director: Manuel Calvo
Stars: Yassir Al Saggaf and Fatima Al Banawi
Rating: 2/5

Gertrude Bell's life in focus

A feature film

At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.

A documentary

A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.

Books, letters and archives

Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.

The%20Roundup

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Company%20profile

%3Cp%3EName%3A%20Tabby%3Cbr%3EFounded%3A%20August%202019%3B%20platform%20went%20live%20in%20February%202020%3Cbr%3EFounder%2FCEO%3A%20Hosam%20Arab%2C%20co-founder%3A%20Daniil%20Barkalov%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Payments%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%2040-50%20employees%3Cbr%3EStage%3A%20Series%20A%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Arbor%20Ventures%2C%20Mubadala%20Capital%2C%20Wamda%20Capital%2C%20STV%2C%20Raed%20Ventures%2C%20Global%20Founders%20Capital%2C%20JIMCO%2C%20Global%20Ventures%2C%20Venture%20Souq%2C%20Outliers%20VC%2C%20MSA%20Capital%2C%20HOF%20and%20AB%20Accelerator.%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Summer special

Hidden killer

Sepsis arises when the body tries to fight an infection but damages its own tissue and organs in the process.

The World Health Organisation estimates it affects about 30 million people each year and that about six million die.

Of those about three million are newborns and 1.2 are young children.

Patients with septic shock must often have limbs amputated if clots in their limbs prevent blood flow, causing the limbs to die.

Campaigners say the condition is often diagnosed far too late by medical professionals and that many patients wait too long to seek treatment, confusing the symptoms with flu.

On Women's Day

Dr Nawal Al-Hosany: Why more women should be on the frontlines of climate action

Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?

Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'

The National Editorial: Is there much to celebrate on International Women's Day 2021?

If you go

The flights

The closest international airport for those travelling from the UAE is Denver, Colorado. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies from the UAE via London from Dh3,700 return, including taxes. From there, transfers can be arranged to the ranch or it’s a seven-hour drive. Alternatively, take an internal flight to the counties of Cody, Casper, or Billings

The stay

Red Reflet offers a series of packages, with prices varying depending on season. All meals and activities are included, with prices starting from US$2,218 (Dh7,150) per person for a minimum stay of three nights, including taxes. For more information, visit red-reflet-ranch.net.

Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

While you're here

Sulaiman Hakemy: Why it's important to lose elections

Rashmee Roshan Lall: US race relations in three words

Michael Goldfarb: First debate marks the end of an era

Casemiro - a football addict who can add balance to Man United, but will he leave Madrid?

Brazil midfielder mulling over United offer that dwarfs his Real Madrid contract

150 summer transfers - in pictures

How to help or find other cats to adopt

RESULTS

Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier

Contracted list

While you're here

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

While you're here

Mountain%20Boy

Super Bowl LIII schedule

The five new places of worship

Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE

Our commentary on Brexit

MATCH INFO

As it stands in Pool A

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

'Champions'

Gertrude Bell's life in focus

The%20Roundup

Company%20profile

Summer special

Hidden killer

On Women's Day

If you go

Our legal consultant

While you're here