JOSE’S IN RAGE AT BASTIAN
German refuses to go
BASTIAN SCHWEINSTEIGER left Jose Mourinho seething yesterday after refusing to join Sporting Lisbon on a free transfer.
Manchester United even agreed to pay a chunk of the German midfielder’s £190,000-a-week wages in Portugal.
But the 32-year-old World Cup winner dug in his heels and told Mourinho he would not go.
The angry Manchester United boss has vowed not to play the midfielder again, despite Schweinsteiger claiming he is still determined to force his way back into the picture.
Mourinho has already axed him from his firstteam squad and suggested that he would rather pick hopefuls out of the youth team to play in midfield.
The German, who calls time on his international career tonight in a friendly against Finland, has two years left on the contract he signed ® EXCLUSIVE by DAVID WOODS after arriving from Bayern Munich in 2015. Schweinsteiger could earn around £18m just by sitting tight until his deal runs out in June 2018. But he still believes he can get Mourinho to change his mind. Schweinsteiger said: “The transfer window is closed in the USA so I’m not going there now. “It’s my dream still to play for Manchester United and if I get a fair chance, I believe in it. “I played in the semi-finals of the European Championship as part of the world champions’ team. I believe in my ability and still dream of helping United. “But the USA is certainly an option, should it come to that.” Although the MLS transfer window does not open again until after Christmas, it seems unlikely United will now attempt to find Schweinsteiger a club before the transfer window closes today.