Bastian Schweinsteiger has revealed how Jose Mourinho kicked him out of the Manchester United dressing room and was forced to train with the U-16s.
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Schweinsteiger joined Man Utd in 2015 under Louis van GaalFailed to impress Mourinho when he took charge in 2016Reveals unfair treatment Mourinho meted out to himWHAT HAPPENED?
Arriving at Old Trafford in 2015 with a decorated career at Bayern Munich, Schweinsteiger's transition to Manchester United happened under then-head coach Louis van Gaal. However, his fortunes took a dramatic turn for the worse upon Mourinho's arrival at the club in the summer of 2016.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesWHAT SCHWEINSTEIGER SAID
In a recent interview with Gary Neville on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, Schweinsteiger shed light on the turbulent conclusion to his Manchester United career, particularly highlighting his strained relationship with Mourinho.
"It was 2016 and I was with the German national team, we went far in the competition (the European Championship) reaching the semi-finals, so I stepped in a little later (at Manchester United) and the team were in the US for a pre-season tour," Schweinsteiger recalled.
"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 Carrington, John Murtough was there and said that I wasn't allowed to walk into the dressing room, the coach had said so. No warning, nothing. I don't know (why he told me). Someone could have told me there (on my first day of training) or explained it to me in a normal way, but okay, I went to the youth dressing room and trained with the under-16s."
Schweinsteiger further shared that John Murtough had to "bring him his 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 continued.
"I asked him whether I could talk to the manager in the afternoon, so when I came back from training with the under 16s, where I trained so bad because I didn't know what was going on or it was a joke, I then had a meeting with (Mourinho) in the afternoon.
"He explained to me that he didn't see me happy here at United because when I had my injury, I did my rehab with German doctors, spending time in Germany. Of course, I came back to United and was in contact with doctors and watched the games – I had a conversation with Louis van Gaal when he was coach, and he said to come on the weekends to United and remain in contact with the doctors, they needed me fit and there was an FA Cup final which I almost played. That was our agreement and I kept to it. For me, I just wanted to get healthy and wanted to be able to play – I stuck to the agreement with Louis van Gaal but obviously the board thought a little differently about that."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
The German midfielder expressed his frustration at being ostracized from the first team, emphasizing that he was effectively isolated from his teammates for a prolonged period. Schweinsteiger revealed that he underwent individual training sessions under a fitness coach for three months, devoid of interaction with the main squad.
"I was training alone for at least three months with a fitness coach," he added. "I trained before and after the (first) team. (Mourinho) never let me train with the first team. I guess they wanted to get rid of me. In that moment, I was still super happy at United, I loved to wear the jersey, I loved it. I was thinking that maybe it was just a period, I will train now and keep myself fit and maybe one day they'll change their mind. My dream was to always step back out into Old Trafford. sometimes I'd pass by a few or get a message. They said that they didn't understand the decision, but I didn't see them. I had to train in the morning or after their session to not see them."
Gary Neville, a former Manchester United player and PFA Union Representative condemned the treatment meted out to Schweinsteiger, labelling it as "illegal" and expressing dismay at the club's handling of the situation.
"I was the PFA Union Representative, and you’re not allowed to do that, you can’t dismiss someone like that, it’s constructive dismissal in some ways,' he said. "It’s probably a few years too late, you should have come and seen me at the time. I’m stunned and embarrassed at what I’m hearing because I always think, players leave clubs and people fall out, but there is a way to do things and a way to behave and act."
DID MOURINHO APOLOGISE?
Although Mourinho eventually extended an apology to Schweinsteiger, the damage caused by the episode had already taken its toll.
"After three months of training on my own at Manchester United, one day Mourinho or his assistant came to me and said that I could train with them (the first team), and I trained with them. I think I trained well, and I liked to play with Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic," Schweinsteiger added.
"Later, I got my minutes but when you see other players playing in your position, you think, "I'm better than this guy." We had Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera, Michael Carrick, Morgan Schneiderlin, and Marouane Fellaini – I thought that I wasn't the last one in that group, for that position," he said.
"Sometimes you'll be sitting there after the game and then people come in (to the dressing room) from the board and come to shake your hands – for me this wasn't easy because I was thinking, that my heart was broken and that it wasn't full of red anymore. The first time someone apologised was when I decided to leave United for America, and asked Jose if I could do that, he then apologised for the way he treated me in the beginning and he had to let me go because he could not say no to me in that moment."