Casemiro's first home appearance for Inter Miami ended in a 2-2 draw with Columbus Crew, with the former Manchester United midfielder inadvertently scoring the visitors' first goal. The 34-year-old gave the ball away with a wayward pass before deflecting it past his own goalkeeper, cancelling out Luis Suarez's opener. Noah Allen then restored Miami's lead, but Brais Mendez netted an 84th-minute equaliser to earn Columbus a point. Despite his error, Casemiro completed the full 90 minutes for the second game running.
Difficult start in Miami
Casemiro's first start for the club came in a 1-0 win over Montreal, a match overshadowed by a serious injury to new team-mate German Berterame. He joined Inter Miami as a free agent after leaving Manchester United when his contract expired, having announced his intention to depart at the start of the year.
The Brazil international represented his nation at the World Cup before his new club was unveiled following Brazil's exit in the last 16. He signed a one-year deal with an option to extend his stay until 2029.
Dream of playing with Messi
Earlier in the week, Casemiro revealed he had dreamt of playing alongside Lionel Messi, who came off the bench against Columbus. "The amount of trouble Messi gave me. of course, I dreamed of playing with him," Casemiro said. "I always wanted to play with the best. I could never stop him, I always needed the help of my teammates. I am very happy to be alongside him now and I want to continue winning titles with him. I want to enjoy being alongside him, help him and make him even greater. He is one of the gods of football, if not the God of football himself, and I want to help."
MLS investigating transfer
The MLS confirmed it was investigating Casemiro's transfer after Inter Miami reached an agreement with LA Galaxy for the rights to sign him. "The league is gathering all relevant information and will refrain from further comment until the review is complete," the MLS said. "While Inter Miami CF and the LA Galaxy have reached a settlement for the discovery priority [first rights] to sign Casemiro, the terms will be released upon conclusion of the tampering investigation."
