"I could never stop him on my own. It was impossible." Casemiro said that about Messi last year. This summer, Orlando City apparently want to give him another shot at it.
Reports linking the Brazilian to a move to Orlando after his Manchester United contract expires are credible enough to take seriously. He's 33, coming off a difficult spell at Old Trafford, and available on a free. For a club that just confirmed Antoine Griezmann is arriving in July, adding Casemiro would signal serious ambition — and serious money.
What this actually means for the MLS picture
Orlando and Inter Miami are already rivals. Geography makes it inevitable, but the on-field animosity has grown steadily. Miami have collected the Supporters' Shield, the MLS Cup, and the Leagues Cup since Messi arrived in 2023. Orlando's last major trophy came in 2022. That gap needs addressing, and landing two former European elite players in one summer is the kind of statement that shifts the league's power balance.
Griezmann's Barcelona years against Messi's Barcelona gave their dynamic some history. But Casemiro and Messi have a deeper file: 20 meetings at club and international level, 15 of them El Clásicos, eight wins apiece, four draws. Casemiro's entire tactical purpose for years was containing the one player he admitted he couldn't contain alone. That kind of rivalry doesn't dissolve because both men are now in Florida.
From a betting standpoint, Orlando with this squad suddenly looks like a genuine threat in the Eastern Conference — not a dark horse, an actual contender. Miami's odds to repeat as MLS Cup champions may start looking less comfortable if the rest of the East is genuinely catching up.
Can Casemiro still do it?
That's the real question. His Manchester United years were uneven at best — strong first season, then a visible decline in sharpness. MLS is a different physical proposition, and plenty of players have extended their careers well here. But there's a difference between being good enough for MLS and being the dominant midfield presence Orlando would need him to be.
He won five Champions Leagues at Real Madrid. He knows exactly what elite football looks like. Whether his legs still carry that football brain is what the medical and the pre-season will tell Orlando's coaching staff.
"Those two players will stay in our memories," Casemiro said of Messi and Ronaldo. He may be about to make a few more memories of his own — whether he can actually stop Messi this time is the one question neither man has answered yet.
