Manchester United Manager Jose Mourinho has admitted some regret over the way that he treated Bastian Schweinsteiger. Mourinho addressed the media on Friday ahead of the West Bromwich Albion match, and you can view the entire press conference at this link.
The well-loved midfielder, who joined the Chicago Fire this week, was exiled at Manchester United by Mourinho.
Schweinsteiger was made to train alone and with United’s youth team players.
The incident drew a lot of criticism toward Mourinho worldwide, with labor law experts claiming the Portugese may have even been in violation of mandated workers rights.
Although, those comments were later walked back.
https://twitter.com/PaulMBanks/status/847218827276488709
Given the timing of the Schweinsteiger deal, with United’s game at Middlesbrough and upcoming international break, Basti was never given the chance to say a proper good bye to the team; until his introductory press conference in Chicago on Wednesday.
Schweinsteiger was definitely not made a part of Mourinho’s plans at United, but he did eventually make a few appearances, and he even scored a goal during the first season of the Mourinho era at Old Trafford.
Now Schweinsteiger faces a new challenge in Major League Soccer, and he was greeted with a hero’s welcome at the airport. His intro presser was a grand spectacle as well.
https://twitter.com/PaulMBanks/status/847201105964646401
He went from after thought at Old Trafford to biggest of the big fish at Toyota Park. Back across the pond Mourinho revealed his regret at the way he handled one of the most decorated midfielders in history, and the German national treasure.
Said Mourinho:
He is in the category of players I feel sorry for something that I did to him
I don’t want to speak about him as a player, I don’t want to speak about him as a payer I would or would not buy.
I want to speak about him as a professional, as a human being. It was the last thing I told him before he left – I was not right with you once, I have to be right with you now.
So when he was asking me to let him leave, I had to say yes, you can leave because I did it once, I cannot do it twice.
So I feel sorry for the first period with him, he knows that, I am happy that he knows, because I told him. I will miss a good guy, a good professional, a very good influence in training.
So I could not stop him to go, even though I know we have so many matches and probably would need him for a few matches or a few periods.
But I had to let him go and now publicly wish him and his wife a very happy life in Chicago.”
After sending well wishes to Schweinsteiger and his wife in Chicago, Mourinho was then as asked what he would have done differently. His answer:
I would let him be in the squad. I knew in that moment we have too many players.
If you remember, we had many players in this doubtful situation, we still had Morgan Schndeiderlin, Memphis Depay Andreas Pereira, Tyler Blackett and James Wilson, a huge squad in the beginning.
But after knowing him as a professional and as a person, the way he was behaving and the way he was respecting my decisions as a manager, yes I regret, and no problem for me admitting it and he knows that because I told him.
always say the second season is a season when the manager knows everything about the players.
What I knew about him was a season full of injuries, a season where he almost didn’t play, a season where he was having treatment outside of the club, and I thought that was not right, the mentality was not right.
He was the kind of player who I would not like to have in the club. In the second season I know everything that is going on.
Now I am inside for 10 months and 10 months is a long time. The second season is where, from a managerial point of view, an easier season that the first.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMSoBvHzuOU
In the video above, you can see Mourinho’s commentary on Schweinsteiger.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times and NBC Chicago.com, contributes to Chicago Tribune.com, Bold, WGN CLTV and KOZN.
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