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Former Manchester United midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger claimed that the club made a grave error when choosing to fire former manager Louis van Gaal.
In July 2015, Schweinsteiger signed for United from Bayern Munich, the team where he spent his entire career up until that point. He was brought to the club by Van Gaal, whom he had previously worked under at Bayern.
The retired German footballer recalled in an interview with FourFourTwo that during his first season at Old Trafford, the team had a strong chance to win the Premier League, only for Leicester City to pull off an unlikely victory.
“That was a huge chance to win the Premier League,” Schweinsteiger recalled, before noting, “But until January we did very well.”
In his eyes, Van Gaal, who had been appointed a season earlier, was in the process of laying down the foundation upon which United could build toward their future.
He also claimed that it was the Dutch manager who had laid the foundation for Bayern Munich to go on to win the 2013 UEFA Champions League under Jupp Heynckes.
By the time Van Gaal had been sacked, life at Old Trafford for Schweinsteiger began to deteriorate. After deciding to travel to Germany to receive medical treatment ahead of Euro 2016, he soon fell out of favour with new manager Jose Mourinho.
In fact, United legend Gary Neville blasted Mourinho for his treatment of Schweinsteiger, labelling this treatment as “illegal” and “embarrassing”.
Despite winning the League Cup and Europa League under Mourinho, the German footballer claimed that United were rash in their decision to dismiss Van Gaal as manager.
“I think Louis van Gaal wanted to change more at the club, and with a bit more trust, he would have done that earlier,” the retired footballer claimed. “When you look back, I think Manchester United lost many years because of that.”
Schweinsteiger’s claims ring loudly at this point in time given the debacle that United face with current manager Erik ten Hag.
This season has been an underwhelming one, with United’s hopes of qualifying for Champions League football all but over following a dismal Premier League campaign. Also fresh in the memory of United fans is the team’s last-place group stage finish in Europe’s elite tournament.
From rumoured pay cuts to reports that the club is scouting replacements such as Girona’s Míchel Sánchez, the Dutch manager’s future at Old Trafford is far from certain.
Still, following Schweinsteiger’s remarks, one cannot help but wonder whether a lack of time on the job once again could prevent United from reaching their full potential.
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