Gary Neville calls Manchester United’s treatment of Bastian Schweinsteiger “illegal” and “embarrassing” | OneFootball

Gary Neville has labelled Bastian Schweinsteiger’s treatment at Manchester United as “illegal” and blasted Jose Mourinho for his role in the German’s last few months at Old Trafford.

The legendary midfielder joined United in the summer of 2015 but only managed to play 35 times for the Red Devils, scoring two goals.

The 2014 World Cup winner would fall out of favour with Jose Mourinho and eventually be released to sign for MLS side Chicago Fire in March 2017, where he would play for three seasons before retiring.

Appearing on Sky Sport’s The Overlap, Schweinsteiger opened up on his treatment from the club in the 2016/2017 season.

The German described how he was kicked out of the dressing room, seemingly out of nowhere from his perspective and originally thought the decision was a joke.

“When I walked into Carrington, [football director] John Murtough was there and said that I wasn’t allowed to walk into the dressing room, the coach [Mourinho] had said so”.

“No warning, nothing. I don’t know. Someone could have told me there, or explained it to me in a normal way, but okay, I went to the youth dressing room and trained with the Under-16’s. Yes, completely [kicked me out of the first team dressing room]”.

Naturally the Bayern Munich legend was dumbfounded by the nature of events and had a meeting with Jose Mourinho later that afternoon.

“I then had a meeting with him [José 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”.

The German insisted that he was just following a pre-arranged agreement with the club that nobody had told him was not OK with the new coaching team in place. Referring to his arrangement with former coach Louis van Gaal in the previous campaign he told Gary Neville that, “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”.

Schweinsteiger revealed that it was only him who was sent to the youth dressing room and that he was made to train alone for three months before and after the first team.

“I guess they wanted to get rid of me. At 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”.

The former all-action midfielder claimed that the whole event naturally made him feel “sad” but Neville had stronger words, claiming that United’s actions were “illegal”.

“I was the PFA Union Representative, and you’re not allowed to do that,” Neville said. “You can’t dismiss someone like that, it’s constructive dismissal in some ways.

“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”.

The pundit then asked Schweinsteiger if this was an example of the negative culture that had seeped into th clube since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.

The former Germany captain didn’t directly agree but claimed that “maybe, it is that. I didn’t understand the way. It could have been done differently. Speak to me normal but not in that way”.

Schweinsteiger then revealed after the three months Mourinho or his assistant Rui Faria, told him he could train with the first team again and that he did eventually receive an apology from Mourinho before he departed to America in March of 2017.

However, the damage was done as the former midfield man claimed “my heart wasn’t so full of red, it was a little bit broken” as nobody had apologised before he had decided to go to Chicago.

It seems scarcely believable that the club could condone such treatment of any player, never mind one of the most legendary of his generation.

The German never came close to reaching his peak at Old Trafford and was already a shell of the player he was in the Bundesliga, but it is a sad indictment of Manchester United that they would let such events take place.

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