Casemiro is Manchester United's New Number 18, Names Scholes as Favourite Player
Manchester United's latest signing, Brazilian midfielder Casemiro, has chosen the number 18 shirt, stating that former number 18 Paul Scholes was his favourite Manchester United player.
Casemiro to Wear 18 for Manchester United
The combative midfielder's choice was confirmed by his new club earlier today, and Casemiro also spoke about his favourite Man Utd player of all time. In terms of his own playing position, he named Zinedine Zidane as his all time idol, while Paul Scholes was the United player he appreciated the most.
“He’s a player that was small but he got stuck in, he was a fighter, he gave everything on the pitch. His passing over 50 to 70 metres was incredible. Manchester United have always [had] good players in that position.The little guy [Scholes] was very good and what I loved about him when he played was that he was small but he went in hard and fair.”
That makes the number 18 a very suitable choice as it was worn by Scholes during his time as their midfield stalwart. Since then, Ashley Young and Bruno Fernandes have also worn it and both proved to be worthy follow-ups, Young as a solid winger turned wing-back and Fernandes as by far the brightest spark in the team when he arrived from Sporting Lisbon.
Casemiro's very first Real Madrid number was 18 when he joined the Castilla side, then 38 followed by 16 when he was promoted to the first team. He made the number 14 his own during last seven years in the Spanish capital, while he had previously worn 8, 28 and 29 at Sao Paolo and 6 while on loan at Porto.
If Casemiro plays like the enforcer we know from his Real Madrid days, Man United's run of effective number 18s is sure to continue. If only they could find the same success with their number 7 shirt.
Are you surprised that Casemiro named Paul Scholes as his United idol? What about his choice of shirt number? Comment below.
