This article contains affiliate links, and the authors will receive a commission on any sales generated from them. Gary Neville strongly criticized Jose Mourinho and John Murtough for their treatment of Bastian Schweinsteiger. Schweinsteiger revealed that Mourinho had banned him from the Manchester United dressing room and made him train with the club’s U16s because he used personal doctors to address an injury. Neville was “stunned and embarrassed” by this mistreatment, which he considered to be “illegal.”
Schweinsteiger detailed an incident of mistreatment in 2016 while Mourinho and his squad were on a pre-season tour in the United States. He explained that on his birthday, he was not allowed to enter the first team dressing room and was told to train with the U16s, leaving him feeling disappointed and disrespected. This treatment led him to believe that the club wanted to offload him. After requesting a meeting with Mourinho to discuss the situation, Schweinsteiger was informed that Mourinho believed he wasn’t happy at United because he did his rehab with German doctors.
Despite explaining his agreement with the club’s previous manager, Louis van Gaal, Mourinho remained unmoved and forced Schweinsteiger to train alone with a fitness coach for over three months. This treatment left Schweinsteiger feeling isolated from his senior teammates, who were also puzzled by the coach’s decision. Neville, a former PFA Union Representative, condemned the treatment of Schweinsteiger as illegal and asserted that it constituted constructive dismissal. He expressed his disappointment in how the situation was handled, stating that there is a proper way to behave and act in such circumstances.
Schweinsteiger reaffirmed his love for Manchester United but expressed his sadness over the mistreatment he endured. He mentioned that Mourinho later invited him back to training when results took a turn for the worst, but by then, the damage had been done. Despite Mourinho privately apologizing for his treatment, the revelations of his mistreatment continue to leave a sour taste in the mouth.