United are reportedly set to pay the Spanish giants $60m upfront with $10m in surcharges for the midfielder’s services.
Neither Manchester United, Real Madrid nor Casemiro’s representatives were immediately available for comment when contacted by CNN.
At a press conference on Friday, Ancelotti confirmed he had spoken to Casemiro, who had expressed his intention to leave the club.
“He wants to face a new challenge, the club understands that,” Ancelotti told reporters ahead of Real Madrid’s La Liga clash with Celta Vigo.
“Casemiro, for everything he has done and for the person he is, we have to respect his wish. Negotiations are ongoing, there is nothing official, he remains our player but his wish is to leave.”
The Brazil international has won three La Liga titles and five UEFA Champions League titles since joining Real Madrid in 2013.
The 30-year-old, whose current contract runs until June 2025, has made 222 appearances for Los Blancos, scoring 24 goals.
The defensive midfielder will be Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag’s fourth signing this summer, with the club already signing left-back Tyrell Malacia, midfielder Christian Eriksen and defender Lisandro Martínez.
United are currently bottom of the Premier League after getting off to a hot start to the new season with back-to-back defeats in their first two games. Last Saturday United were humiliated 4-0 at Brentford, after which Ten Hag said his team’s plan was “thrown in the trash”.
“They (the players) make bad decisions and that’s football. It’s a game of mistakes and we get punished,” said ten Hag afterwards.
“It’s naive how we played today. You have to play more directly. We put them on, the space was high on the pitch… We’re going to learn, we have to learn. But it’s not good, it’s at this level pretty clear.”
United host Liverpool at Old Trafford on Monday in a clash between two of the league’s closest rivals.