Casemiro and Raphaël Varane sent the same message to Kobbie Mainoo, it’s underrated advice

Kobbie Mainoo has explained the message he received from Manchester United leaders Casemiro and Raphaël Varane as he was coming through into the first-team.

Mainoo, 19, started the last season in November after an injury in pre-season against Real Madrid knocked his progress back.

He responded by becoming one of United’s best players from his debut onwards and scoring the winning goal in the FA Cup final against Manchester City.

Within six months, the teenager went from being an unknown entity to 90 per cent of United’s fanbase to a fan-favourite and starter for England at the European Championships.

During his holidays this summer, Mainoo is enjoying a break in Los Angeles away from the squad. He is expected to return to training ahead of the Community Shield against Manchester City.

The 19-year-old visited the famous Venice Beach FC, who have previously hosted the likes of Ronaldinho, Rafael Leão and Kylian Mbappé.

After a session of futsal, Mainoo sat down to take questions from the young team and The United Stand captured an interesting answer from the United star.

Asked for any advice he had on how to handle a quick rise in the game like he has gone through, Mainoo said: “I feel like it’s just keeping your love for the game.

“Because sometimes training can be tough, and a lot of games can be tough.

“But I feel like keeping that same love that you have from a kid and taking it all over the world and wherever you play, and just enjoying it.

“That’s what, when I was coming into the first team, everyone was telling me. Casemiro, Raphaël Varane, big players, they always told me to just enjoy it.

“The biggest games, enjoy it, because you only get these opportunities once. So you have to be in the moment and enjoy it. Enjoy the game that we all love.”

Two legends of the game who are closing in on the end of their careers clearly recognise the talent Mainoo possesses. But, also know how quickly your career can pass by.

For them, it probably felt like yesterday they were lifting the Champions League three times in a row under Zinedine Zidane. Football is a short career.

While the young United star will certainly need other kinds of guidance as he continues to grow as a player, it’s brilliant that those at the very top of the game have reminded him to embrace every moment of the journey.

Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is released every Thursday at 6 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.