Manchester United have confirmed Casemiro will wear the no.18 shirt and follow in the footsteps of club legend Paul Scholes.
The Brazil midfielder, 30, has signed for the Red Devils in a £70million move from Real Madrid.
He arrives as a five-time Champions League winner and one of Europe’s most successful midfielders of the last decade.
But his shirt number carries an even greater weight of expectation at Old Trafford.
The no.18 jersey was made famous by Scholes, who is considered one of the greatest players in Premier League history.
Scholes won 11 league titles over an astonishing 22-year career with the Red Devils, making more than 700 appearances over two separate spells for the club.
And the England hero left his mark on Casemiro.
When asked about his midfield icons, the new signing told Man United’s official website: “Well, there are many players.
“I think there are players that you remember in your life. So, in terms of idols in this position my idol growing up was always [Zinedine] Zidane, [but] here at Manchester United, it was always Paul Scholes.
“He’s a player that was small but he got stuck in, he was a fighter, he gave everything on the pitch. His passing over 50 to 70 metres was incredible.
“Manchester United have always [had] good players in that position. [Michael] Carrick was also a great player so I think that Manchester United have always had good players in that position and in midfield.
“The little guy [Scholes] was very good and what I loved about him when he played was that he was small but he went in hard and fair.”
