Liverpool’s German midfielder Emre Can has had his say in the controversy surrounding Manchester United and Bastian Schweinsteiger, condemning the treatment meted out to his compatriot by Jose Mourinho
Former Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger had been infamously frozen out of Jose Mourinho’s first team squad at Manchester United in the pre-season. To make matters worse, he was even excluded from the club’s Europa League squad for the season. Ever since then, Schweinsteiger had been watching his club play from the sidelines week in week out while training either with the reserves or on his own all the while.
The doom and gloom surrounding the German legend has ended for now, as Schweinsteiger made a surprise return from Mourinho’s enforced exile earlier this week. Joining training at the Aon Training Complex on Monday, Schweinsteiger was seen being put through his paces with United’s first team regulars.
Back to work for #MUFC! pic.twitter.com/laCEkCnqOc
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 31, 2016
Can, however, has slammed the Red Devils and their Portuguese boss for the disrespectful behaviour shown towards his compatriot. Speaking to ESPN FC, the Germany international said: “I know Schweinsteiger very well and I used to play with him. He’s a very good guy and he’s a legend. I don’t know what happened there but I think they don’t have too much respect for him.
Praising Schweinsteiger for being nothing but a true gentleman, Can went on to add that he is thankful to Schweinsteiger for helping him when he first broke into the national setup. “When I first came up to the first team [at Bayern Munich] he was the first one who came to me and said: ‘If you need something come to me.’ That was a big help. I was very thankful for that and it’s something I’ll never forget.”
Reports suggest that Schweinsteiger’s return might be short lived though, as he might be on his way out of Old Trafford as early as January. Jose Mourinho has identified eight players who will be axed from his squad over the next two transfer windows and Schweinsteiger is said to be one of the names on the list.
United signed Schweinsteiger from Bayern Munich for a reported £14.4 million. The German midfielder has made 31 appearances for the club so far, the last of which came against Manchester City in a 1-0 win at the Etihad Stadium back in March.
