Bastian Schweinsteiger is perhaps the most fun name to say in all of sports. That’s not an understatement; I really mean that. The Manchester United and Germany midfielder announced his retirement from international competition on July 29th; meaning the 2016 European Championship semi-final versus France was the end of the line for the Captain of Die Mannschaft.
Currently, his club status is abysmal. United Manager Jose Mourinho‘s treatment of Schweinsteiger has been quite controversial.
There’s been so much controversy surrounding it that many prominent figures called it bullying.
Although to be fair, the most vocal critic of Mourinho’s treatment of Schweinsteiger, the attorney/player union rep who said it was criminal, walked back that critique with an apology. However, Schweinsteiger remains frozen out at Old Trafford. He hasn’t seen any playing time, and it’s looks like an absolute certainty that he never will this season.
Mourinho outlined, in great candor, just how low the chances are that Schweinsteiger sees major minutes.
“I think it’s very difficult to happen.”
“I’m not saying it’s impossible, I’m saying its very difficult because we have made a decision made about (Paul) Pogba, (Ander) Herrera, (Morgan) Schneiderlin, (Marouane) Fellaini and (Michael) Carrick.
“We have five players for two positions, so it’s very difficult for an opportunity to arise.”
“Football is made of decisions. I did that all my career. Not just me, everyone does, but some players react in a different way.”
“To be honest, Bastian is not speaking a lot. He gave his last statement, which he is completely free to make, in an objective way, like he did.”
To read the rest of Mourinho’s comments, and much more on this situation, go here.
So where could he go to escape his current no hope of any playing time situation?
How about American Major League Soccer? Schweinsteiger could go from someplace where there is no hope to a destination where he would be the absolute alpha dog.
Said FC Dallas President Dan Hunt this weekend: “He is an incredible player. I always admired him and the success that his teams had. That is no coincidence, he is a winner. At the moment we only have space for one designated player and we wanted to fill this with a striker. Maybe it will change, we will see.”
Yes, Hunt has confirmed to German media that this club is in fact interested in signing Schweinsteiger.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous radio and television talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter, Sound Cloud and Instagram