Decision reached on major star’s Man Utd future after Ratcliffe gets ruthless

Manchester United are showing a newfound ruthless streak and will wave goodbye to one of Ruben Amorim’s regular starters UNLESS he accepts a substantial pay-cut, according to reports.

No footballing decision at Man Utd is made without Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s approval. The British billionaire has the final say on all matters at Old Trafford despite being a minority owner, and slashing the wage bill is key directive.

Man Utd want to re-sign Harry Maguire to a new deal but on reduced terms. The centre-back currently pockets £190,000-a-week.

It’s a similar situation involving Casemiro who is actually Man Utd’s top earner. However, in Casemiro’s case, there is a club option to extend by a year.

Casemiro is currently a regular starter alongside Bruno Fernandes in Ruben Amorim’s two-man midfield.

Yet according to the latest from Football Insider, Man Utd and Ratcliffe have reached a decision and that option will NOT be activated.

Doing so would have meant Casemiro stayed on his current salary, which is believed to be in the region of £350,000-a-week.

READ MORE: The key contract details of every Man Utd first-team player: Expiry dates, weekly wages, agents…

Instead, Casemiro must either accept a substantial pay-cut or he’ll be moved on via free agency when his existing deal expires next summer.

FI’s reporting echoes what we revealed on October 21. Transfer insider, Dean Jones, told TEAMtalk the only way Casemiro gets a new deal at Old Trafford is if his salary is slashed.

The club are adopting the same approach with Maguire in their efforts to tie him down for one more season. But given Maguire earns much less than Casemiro at present, he won’t be asked to accept such a drastic pay decrease.

Where Casemiro is expected to go

Whether Casemiro will readily accept a massive salary cut remains to be seen. One source who doesn’t expect Casemiro to be a Man Utd player next season is Fabrizio Romano.

The transfer guru previously stated Casemiro is highly likely to be in his ‘final season’ at Old Trafford.

A return to his native Brazil or a late-career payday in Saudi Arabia have been touted. Al Nassr – where Cristiano Ronaldo plays – have long been mooted as an ideal next destination.

Casemiro and Ronaldo were teammates at Real Madrid for five seasons between 2013-18 and won a remarkable four Champions League titles in that span.

The duo also briefly crossed paths once again at Old Trafford during Ronaldo’s second spell in Manchester.

VOTE: Should Man Utd keep Casemiro? ⬇️

Latest Man Utd news – Semenyo / Zirkzee / McTominay

In other news, it’s emerged Man Utd offered £50m for Antoine Semenyo over the summer, with both they and Tottenham seeing bids knocked back.

Semenyo ultimately signed a new contract with the Cherries and there’s now growing speculation he’ll wind up at Anfield.

Elsewhere, Joshua Zirkzee will show extra caution when choosing any move in January, sources have told TEAMtalk, with doubts now raised over the prospect of West Ham signing the wantaway forward.

Finally, The Sun have claimed Scott McTominay could potentially return to the Premier League after just two seasons with Napoli.

The obvious destination if he were to return is of course, Manchester United.