Pep Guardiola has praised Manchester United midfielder Casemiro and manager Erik ten Hag ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup final showdown. The Spanish boss is a big fan of the Brazil international, saying: “I don’t know him but I have info when he was in Madrid, how professional he was, the quality he has. I was convinced he wasn’t coming here just for holidays or the last years of his career. When you’ve won four or five Champions Leagues with Real Madrid it’s because you are special player. Otherwise you cannot be there for a long time.”
When asked about United manager Ten Hag, Guardiola added: “I identify a manager by how they are improving, just to see when he arrives and now. To see the team getting better and better, that is not easy in the first season. I identify a really good manager, a part of that is a guy who represents our profession in the best way possible on the pitch and off the pitch. I cannot say we are friends, we are not in touch much. We had a short experience in Munich [when Ten Hag was a coach] but I think honestly United has an exceptional manager for many years.”