Mourinho tells Schweinsteiger he made "big mistake" with Man Utd midfielder

Jose Mourinho confessed he made a big mistake in making Bastian Schweinsteiger play with Manchester United's U23s when he arrived at Old Trafford.

The Special One was appointed as boss at Old Trafford in the summer of 2016 and inherited a squad assembled by Louis van Gaal, following his sacking.

Schweinsteiger was one of the Dutchman's additions in his final summer as boss, capturing the midfielder for £6.5m.

That was considered something of a bargain given the German's standing at Bayern Munich and the national team, with whom he'd won the World Cup in 2014.

When Mourinho arrived though Schweinsteiger was quickly demoted as the Portuguese coach began shaping his team.

The former Chelsea boss never explained why the midfielder was overlooked, but conceded when the German left that he'd got it wrong.

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Bastian Schweinsteiger was handed few opportunities under Jose Mourinho ( Image:

Getty Images)

"I didn't play a lot [under Mourinho] unfortunately, but I still respect him. He's a great manager who has won a lot of trophies. It was a weird and difficult situation, he never really explained to me why," Schweinsteiger told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"At the end of the day, it is in the past, it's history. But I loved playing for United, the fans were absolutely amazing. I loved every single moment.

"In the first year under Louis van Gaal, until I got injured, when Leicester won the title, we were up there and battling for the first position.

"We were very successful, I think, even without big signings like Zlatan [Ibrahimovic] or Paul [Pogba]. We should have won much more with those big signings, except I couldn't play with them.

"It was maybe because I played under Pep Guardiola and had played Pep Guardiola football, which he doesn't like so much, I think. Still, I also liked how Mourinho was, actually, coaching.

"Of course the game style is different - I think that is why Zlatan left. It was not so much football, sometimes it was more direct. But he had success with his teams. It was just a strange feeling.

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"I don't think it was his personal opinion. At the end of the day, he apologised to me and said it was a big mistake. It was just too late. The decision, I think, was made before he actually arrived."

Schweinsteiger, who recently retired, only made four appearances under Mourinho, none of which came in the league.

He moved to Chicago Fire shortly after the Special One's arrival which meant he ended his United spell with just the FA Cup to show for his efforts.