Bastian Schweinsteiger has shared that he was banned from first-team training at Manchester United by manager Jose Mourinho during his time at the English club.
Schweinsteiger joined the Red Devils on July 13, 2015, from Bayern Munich for a fee of €9 million.
Bastian Schweinsteiger was an influential player for Louis Van Gaal during his first season (2015-16) at Manchester United, making 31 appearances, scoring 1 goal and providing 2 assists in all competitions.
In his subsequent season at Old Trafford, the Germany international made only four appearances, scoring no goal and providing no assist in all competitions.
The 39-year-old afterward left Manchester United on March 21, 2017, joining MLS side Chicago Fire on a free transfer.
Bastian Schweinsteiger was sad due to the ill treatment he received from Jose Mourinho
Speaking on the Overlap podcast, Schweinsteiger expressed that his treatment under Jose Mourinho made him sad.
He said: “I was very sad because United was the second club of my heart.
“I gave a lot when I played as well, so that’s why I was sad, but I’m not the type of person to go running to the media. It’s more important for me to focus on football and behave the way I did.”
The German great Bastian Schweinsteiger missed the culminating 11 games of the 2015-16 season because of injury and he was treated in Germany before the European Championships in 2016.
Manchester United appointed Jose Mourinho as Louis Van Gaal’s successor in May 2016.
Schweinsteiger played about 6 games at the European Championships as Germany made it to the semi-finals of the competition.
His involvement at the European Championships resulted in him missing the commencement of Manchester United‘s preseason in the United States Of America.
Schweinsteiger barred from training with Manchester United first team
Bastian Schweinsteiger additionally expressed that following his return, he was delighted to see Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but revealed the sudden turn of events days after.
He said: “When I arrived on the first day, I trained with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and thought it was great, a player who has the vision and is amazing to play with.
“The next day, on my birthday, when I walked into (United’s training ground) Carrington, (football director) John Murtough was there and said that I wasn’t allowed to walk into the dressing room – the coach had said so.
“I had to ask him to bring me my cleats and training gear. I asked him who I was training with, and he said there was the under-16 team, so I went and trained with the under-16s.”
Schweinsteiger’s first appearance during the 2016/17 season came in November 2016 in the English Football League Cup against West Ham United.
Bastian Schweinsteiger made an additional 3 appearances across the FA Cup and Europa League before moving to continue his career in America.
Jose Mourinho apologized to me for how I was treated – Bastian Schweinsteiger
Meanwhile, the 2014 FIFA World Cup winner added that Jose Mourinho apologized to him for treating him “unfairly”.
He said: “The first time someone apologized was when I decided to leave Manchester United for America.
“I asked Jose if I could do that and he apologized for the way he treated me in the beginning.
“He had to let me go because he could not do something against me again.”
Bastian Schweinsteiger retired in 2019 after three seasons with Major League Soccer side Chicago Fire.
The German made 627 club career appearances, scoring 78 goals and providing 113 assists across all competitions.
Internationally, he made 121 appearances for Germany, scoring 24 goals and 37 assists in all competitions.
Schweinsteiger won several trophies in his career, including; 1 UEFA Champions League, 8 German Bundesliga, and 1 FIFA World Cup title.
