Matheus Cunha has insisted that head coach Michael Carrick deserves to be handed the Manchester United job on a full-time basis, and the Brazilian forward has not given up hope of Casemiro staying at Old Trafford to play under him next season.
Carrick boosted his prospects of a permanent appointment at the end of the season by guiding United to a 3-2 victory over Liverpool on Sunday, a result that confirmed the club's return to the Champions League.
'It's amazing, he's a pleasure, and of course I think he deserves it,' said Cunha. 'Look, I sat on the bench with him and how he teaches everyone is amazing. I think he has the magic like with the Ferguson times, these kinds of things. He came to teach us how it was, to be part of everything, and then he did this.'
'The Champions League without this club is not the same competition, and this club without Champions League is not the same club. We know the goal of the season is to be there. When we came in, I think there were a lot of doubts about how the club will come back, and I'm so happy to be part of this. Not only the Champions League, we need to fight for titles. This is the first step, and I think we can be much stronger for next season.'
The win over Liverpool was Casemiro's penultimate game at Old Trafford before his £375,000-a-week contract expires at the end of the season. The 34-year-old and United announced in January that he would leave as a free agent this summer, with a move to Major League Soccer with Inter Miami or LA Galaxy likely. But Cunha has not ruled out the possibility that his United and Brazil teammate could yet stay a little longer.
'Yeah, we don't know in the end how it is with his contract, and then of course everyone hopes there's a little bit more,' he added. 'I know it's harder than we talked about, but in the end, you never know. To have this guy in the dressing-room is a privilege. I play with him in the national team also, and I know how important he is. With me, in particular, he's an amazing guy. He's so lovely, so friendly, and he teaches me.'
Cunha opened the scoring against Liverpool with his ninth goal of the season since joining United from Wolves for £62.5 million last summer. The 26-year-old star has also scored important goals against some of United's other big rivals, including Arsenal, Leeds, and Chelsea.
'These kind of games are a dream to play in and then score,' he said. 'My friends say, "we need to bet on you because you love this" and I say, "don't bet please!" I'm so happy to be part of these games as an important player. To be important in these kinds of moments, it's amazing. I feel like football is representing life. Of course, I've had hard moments and everyone needs to be strong. We need to wait for the good moments and then work so hard. I feel that it's only the start of the journey, and there's so much to learn and so much to continue. I have to help this group to achieve together.'
Cunha's latest goal saw him perform his trademark 'surfer' celebration in front of the United fans. 'To be honest, now I've improved my celebration a little bit,' he smiled. 'My friends in Brazil every time say, "you need to paddle a little more to surf – and stand up on the surfboard!" It's part of my life. To show everyone how happy I am to play football and surf, I have to do it.'
