Manchester United legend, Rio Ferdinand has advised Kobbie Mainoo to follow the Casemiro example if he wants to earn Ruben Amorim’s trust for first team football rather than go elsewhere in search of playing-time, Softfootball reports.
The England international has struggled for game time under the Manchester United gaffer and he informed the club during the summer of his desire to leave possibly on loan as he got his eyes on making the Three Lions squad to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Rio Ferdinand who is a huge fan of Mainoo has advised him via his official podcast not to follow in the footsteps of Marcus Rashford, Antony and Jordon Sancho that leave the club after failing to fight for their places. Instead, he encouraged the youngster to fight for his spot like Casemiro did. He said:
You are never too old, too experienced and never too successful to learn and he’s a glowing reference point for any young player at Manchester United. Character-wise, personality wise, they got a lot to learn from Casemiro.
Yes, there’s football-wise too but they are very different players. You’ve got Casemiro, a man in form and Bruno [Fernandes], the most exciting player we’ve got, it’s going to be hard for Kobbie to get in here right now.
Casemiro was tipped to be sold last January as Amorim wanted a different kind of holding midfielder. He was benched in many matches but fought his way back into the team and showed his leadership qualities with dedication and determination despite having won the UEFA Champions League and LaLiga multiple times with Real Madrid.
Here is the full video of the Rio Ferdinand conversation during his official podcast. Watch below.
What Kobbie Mainoo can learn from Casemiro's redemption 🤩 Why he's the most professional player at #MUFC since CR7
CC: @rioferdy5, @joelbeya pic.twitter.com/EZCixQ4B5N
— Rio Ferdinand Presents (@RioMeets) November 2, 2025Manchester United finished 15th last season and have already started the current season better than they did last term despite having tougher opening fixtures. It is left to be seen if Mainoo will follow Ferdinand’s advise to stay at Old Trafford and help they finish in the top half of the premier league or still insist on a move in January.
