Real Deal Pods: Madrid To Manchester: Legends In Crisis

On this episode of the Real Deal, we bring on Manchester United analyst The Devil’s DNA and review how former Blancos stars Raphael Varane and Casemiro have performed since transferring to Manchester United.

We analyze the reasons why the former European champions have struggled to find their top form in the Premier League, look back at their time in Madrid, reminisce about Casemiro and Varane’s roles in Real Madrid’s Champions League three-peat, and examine how age, injuries and fitness have affected both players at United. Zooming in on each player, we evaluate Varane’s performances as United’s standout defender and discuss his recent benching, and also discuss how Casemiro has fit into and shaped manager Erik ten Hag’s tactics and system. To close, we gaze into the future and consider what may be next for Ten Hag, Casemiro and Varane, and question whether they will get the chance to return United to their glory days.

TIMESTAMPS:

5:52 - Why the Real Madrid duo have struggled at Manchester United

9:58 - Casemiro & Varane’s Madrid glory days

13:30 - Age, injuries and fitness factors

20:16 - Assessing Varane, United’s best box defender

32:07 - Zooming in on Casemiro & his role in Ten Hag’s tactics

45:00 - Real Madrid’s approach to keeping older players

52:18 - What the future holds for Ten Hag, Varane, Casemiro and Manchester United

Find us on X, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok at @realdealpods for more takes and banter between episodes on our Managing Madrid Spotify feed!

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Hosts this week:

Mehedi Hassan (@MHassanFootball)

Siddharth Ramsundar (@TacticalFouling)

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