Casemiro is set to become one of the highest earners at Manchester United as the Brazilian international closes in on a transfer from Real Madrid.

United have made a deal for the Madrid star their prime focus at the culmination of a summer of frustrating transfer pursuits. Fees were agreed with Barcelona and Juventus for Frenkie de Jong and Adrien Rabiot respectively, but neither deal was finalized.

It has been reported that United representatives have already held discussions with Madrid chiefs in the Spanish capital as they continue to work on a deal with the transfer deadline fast approaching. It is now anticipated that the deal will be closed in a matter of days.

Suggestions that the 30-year-old is set to double his Real Madrid wages at Old Trafford are thought to be wide of the mark, although he looks set to become one of the highest earning players at United should the move be completed.

As per figures from Sportrac, Cristiano Ronaldo is comfortably the highest-paid star at Old Trafford with wages of £510k per week. Over the course of a year, this adds up to £26.52million. The next highest earner at the club is David De Gea, on £19.5million per annum.

It is reported by The Athletic that any deal for Casemiro would put him on a par with the wages earned by De Gea, which break down into a gross figure of £375k per week (the Spaniard is the highest paid goalkeeper in world football, by a distance).

Machester united target Casemiro with the Champions League Trophy
While Casemiro – who has won 18 trophies at Real Madrid, including three league titles and five Champions League crowns – will be well paid at United, the structure of his contract is set to ensure that his wage packet is heavily incentivized by performance-related add-ons in terms of individual appearances and team objectives, notably whether the club qualify for Champions League football.

Ronaldo is the highest earner at United with an annual wage of £26.5million with David de Gea (£19.5million) and Jadon Sancho (£18.2million) completing the top three. Raphael Varane is on a reported £17.68million, before Paul Pogba and Edinson Cavani – who both departed Old Trafford this summer – were next up in the earnings.

Ronaldo wants to leave United after just one season since returning to the club following 12 years away. The Portuguese star’s future remains unclear but any exit would see a major injection of wages become available to United chiefs.