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Man Utd transfer decision slammed by Van Gaal as he hits out at Jose Mourinho
LOUIS VAN GAAL has taken a swipe at Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho over his handling of Germany legend Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Honigstein: Mourinho saw Schweinsteiger as symbol of LVG era
Van Gaal brought Schweinsteiger to Manchester United in July 2015 but in his first season struggled to adjust to the intensity of English football.
When Jose Mourinho became manager in 2016, he made clear Schweinsteiger was not a part of his plans and ostracised from the first-team squad.
Schweinsteiger was made to train with the under-23s but eventually fought his way into Mourinho’s thoughts, making four appearances before being sold to Chicago Fire.
Mourinho later admitted he regretted how he treated Schweinsteiger, who won multiple trophies at Bayern Munich and the World Cup with Germany.
Jose Mourinho exiled Bastian Schweinsteiger from his squad
How Mourinho treated him after me, Schweini did not deserve this
But Van Gaal says Mourinho made a mistake not keeping Schweinsteiger for his experience.
"Schweinsteiger was older, of course, but not too old," Van Gaal told Sport Bild.
"Still, his body was not able to keep up with the high demands of Premier League.
"Bayern sold him to us as fit player, but, in reality, physically he had reached the end.
Louis van Gaal remains a fan of Bastian Schweinsteiger
"How Mourinho treated him after me, Schweini did not deserve this.
“But it also explains how things were with Schweinsteiger.
"It's a shame because he is a player like Luis Enrique, Mark van Bommel or Philipp Lahm, a character always present on the pitch."
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