He only cost €7.5m but his annual salary is a reported €20m.
Manchester United’s signing of Bastian Schweinsteiger, last summer, came as somewhat of a surprise.
The club were on the look-out for a holding midfielder but were on the verge of tying up a deal for Morgan Schneiderlin. Schweinsteiger was 31 and had a number of issues with a troublesome knee. Pep Guardiola doubted if he would ever be the same again.
Louis van Gaal, who previously coached the German, took a punt. The transfer fee was initially flagged at £14m [€17.2m] but it turned out to be less than half.
A bargain, or so we thought.
Schweinsteiger has been decent but he has rarely been great. He has also been injured, a lot. Three separate knocks have cost him a chunk of games.
United are said to be paying him Wayne Rooney-esque wages [€340,000 a week] and the return has been poor. At present, he is battling to get back for the end of the season.
That season could be his first and last at Old Trafford, if reports in Turkey are to be believed.
AMK has run a story on Fenerbache coming to United’s rescue again. They have already taken Robin van Persie and Nani off their wage bill. Schweinsteiger is next in their sights.
The paper says Fenerbache will pay United €9m for a man they ambitiously describe as the ‘world’s best midfielder’.
Michael Carrick has, at many times, been linked with a move away from United when his contract expires in the summer.
One suspects United would like to retain the services of at least one of them. If Jose Mourinho does take over, all central midfielders over the age of 30 may be turfed out.
