The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)

Old Trafford will be midfielder’s last Euro stop

Schweinste­iger insists he will be ready if he is called back in to Mourinho’s plans

- Duncan bech

Midfielder Bastian Schweinste­iger has issued a statement to say Manchester United will be his “last club in Europe”.

The 32-year-old former Germany internatio­nal, who moved to Old Trafford in July 2015, has not featured this season under new United manager Jose Mourinho, with reports suggesting he has been made to train with the reserves.

But the World Cup winner took to Twitter yesterday to stress his commitment to the team.

“MUFC will be my last club in Europe,” he posted. “I respect other clubs, but Manchester United was the only one which could make me leave Bayern Munich. “I will be ready, if the team needs me. “That is all I can say about the current situation. I want to thank the fans for the amazing support over the recent weeks.”

Schweinste­iger signed a three-year deal when he joined United from Bayern 13 months ago, but scored just one goal in 31 appearance­s in all competitio­ns last term.

The summer signings of Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have led to him slipping down the pecking order.

Mourinho’s treatment of the German prompted Dejan Stefanovic of world players’ union FIFPro to say earlier this month that the Portuguese should be jailed for “bullying”.

The out-of-favour midfielder, who last month retired from internatio­nal duty having won 120 caps and the 2014 World Cup, has attracted widespread interest, with English clubs among those keen to bring him in.

But the player has now ruled out such a switch, leaving the likes of Major League Soccer in the United States or the lucrative Chinese Super League as possible future career options.

 ??  ?? Schweinste­iger: committed.
Schweinste­iger: committed.

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