Schweinsteiger to join Man United
July 11, 2015
Bastian Schweinsteiger will leave Bayern Munich this summer and join Manchester United, confirmed the club's chief executive, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
The 30-year-old won eight championships, seven German Cups and one Champions League title during a 17-year association with the German champions.
Schweinsteiger had 12 months left on his current contract, but will head to Old Trafford in a deal believed to be worth around 21 million euros (23.4 million dollars) and sign a three-year-deal with the English side.
"He has agreed terms with Manchester United, things are clarified. He wants to end his career here but do something new. I can understand that," Rummenigge confirmed at a press conference.
The midfielder decided not to join the club's season opening on Saturday, but will be afforded a farewell game according to Rummenigge. "He's a sensible person. That's a decision you just have to accept."
Schweinsteiger is reunited with former Bayern coach Louis van Gaal who spent two seasons and was influential in moving the player into the central-midfield position.
The Dutchman had reportedly been interested in adding Thomas Müller to his squad, but Rummenigge confirmed that 'no other players will be leaving to join Manchester United this summer'.
From kid to king
Schweinsteiger has been on the books at Bayern since he was 14 and opted for a career in football ahead of skiing where he was also highly-talented.
He appeared in Bayern colors for the first-team in 2002 aged 18 under legendary head coach Ottmar Hitzfeld. He won four championships before the arrival of Van Gaal marked a massive turning point in his career.
"He did not fit in the position of left-winger for me,” Van Gaal told FIFA.com last year. “When I arrive at a new club, I talk with every player about his position, his personality, the team and how he works with his team-mates. I told Bastian: ‘I think you have to play in the midfield."
A good passer of the ball and combative in the tackle, Schweinsteiger was instrumental in reaching the Champions League final in 2010 and 2012.
Defeat to Chelsea in the toughest of circumstances was hard to take, but he rallied his team-mates who went on to claim an impressive treble the following season.
In the summer of 2014, he helped Germany to the World Cup title in Brazil, but the demanding schedule for club and country has blighted his career.
He has undergone surgery on his ankle and his knee in recent years, keeping him out of action for more than 50 games since Pep Guardiola's arrival in 2013.
Schweinsteiger insists he has at least three or four season left in the tank at the highest level and his move to Old Trafford will mark a new chapter in a special career for him.