Confirmed: Casemiro's squad number at United
We can confirm that Casemiro will wear the no.18 shirt for Manchester United, following the completion of his transfer from Real Madrid.
The Brazilian's jersey is now available to order via United Direct.
Casemiro's arrival was confirmed on Monday night and he was swiftly unveiled in front of a raucous crowd at Old Trafford ahead of the 2-1 Premier League win over Liverpool.
On Thursday, the five-time Champions League winner trained with his new team-mates for the first time and he is notably available for Saturday’s match against Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium.
There has been plenty of speculation around which number Casemiro will wear for United, but the debate is now over and fans can look forward to seeing him in the no.18 shirt this season.
Supporters must wait to see him in red, however, because the players are set to wear our green third kit in Saturday’s 12:30 BST kick-off on the south coast.
In his signing interview that was released on Thursday, Casemiro was asked which players were his idols when growing up and the smiling Brazilian pointed to a ginger genius who made no.18 famous at United.
“Well, there are many players,” he told journalist Andy Mitten. “I think there are players that you remember in your life. So, in terms of idols in this position my idol growing up was always [Zinedine] Zidane, [but] here at Manchester United, it was always Paul Scholes.
“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. [Michael] Carrick was also a great player so I think that Manchester United have always had good players in that position and in midfield.
“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.”
It is unclear if Scholes is behind his choice of no.18, but Casemiro is clearly a fan.
According to transfermarkt.co.uk, our summer signing has worn seven different squad numbers throughout his decorated career so far, starting with no.8 and then no.28 at first club Sao Paulo.
The South American midfielder briefly wore no.18 at Real Madrid Castilla, before he donned no.38 and no.16 after he progressed into Real's senior side.
Casemiro wore no.6 during his 2014/15 loan spell at Porto, and then went on call no.14 his own for the last seven seasons at the Bernabeu.
WHO ARE OUR PREVIOUS NO.18S?
Only five United players have previously worn no.18 since fixed squad numbers were introduced soon after the start of the Premier League era.
Darren Ferguson and Simon Davies had it first, before the aforementioned Scholes held it for 15 years. Ashley Young took it on between 2011 and 2022, followed by Bruno Fernandes for his first two-and-half seasons as a Red.
The latter switched to no.8 in the summer after Juan Mata's departure, freeing up the space for Casemiro.