Casemiro has described his new Inter Miami teammate Lionel Messi as the "God of football" in a candid admission following his high-profile transfer to Major League Soccer.
The 34-year-old Brazilian midfielder recently departed Manchester United to sign with the Florida franchise through the 2027 season. During his official unveiling this week, Casemiro reflected on his fierce, decade-long rivalry with the Argentine captain during their respective tenures at Real Madrid and Barcelona.
"The amount of trouble Messi gave me... I could never stop him, I always needed the help of my teammates," Casemiro told reporters in Miami. "Of course, I dreamed of playing with him. I always wanted to play with the best."
The veteran enforcer, who won five UEFA Champions League titles alongside Cristiano Ronaldo in the Spanish capital, then delivered a striking assessment of his former adversary.
"I am very happy to be alongside him now and I want to continue winning titles with him," he added. "He is one of the gods of football, if not the God of football himself, and I want to help."
The remarks have generated significant discourse across the sport, largely due to Casemiro’s deep-rooted ties to Real Madrid and Ronaldo. Throughout his peak years at the Santiago Bernabeu, the Brazilian was frequently deployed specifically to disrupt Messi’s rhythm in El Clasico fixtures—a monumental tactical challenge he now openly concedes was impossible to manage alone.
While active professionals have yet to publicly weigh in on the press conference, analysts have noted a compelling trend. Casemiro is the latest in a lineage of former Real Madrid stalwarts, including Sergio Ramos, who have issued ultimate praise for Messi upon transitioning from bitter rivals to locker-room allies. The statements also inevitably reignite the enduring public debate surrounding Messi and Ronaldo, given Casemiro's extensive shared history with the Portuguese forward at both Madrid and Old Trafford.
Following a Premier League stint that yielded both League Cup and FA Cup honors, Casemiro now pivots to a new chapter in North America. For Inter Miami, securing a holding midfielder of his pedigree provides essential defensive infrastructure behind a star-studded attacking line.
With the game on in Major League Soccer, Inter Miami's story moves forward, bolstered by an unprecedented alliance between two of the modern era's defining figures.