Jose Mourinho defends his treatment of Manchester United star

JOSE MOURINHO has defended his decision to snub Bastian Schweinsteiger and leave him out in the cold.

By Jeremy Cross, Chief Sports Writer

The Manchester United boss has shunned the German ace and ordered him to train with the club’s under-23s.

Schweinsteiger has been left stunned after being deemed surplus to requirements - just 12 months after joining United in a £12m deal from Bayern Munich.

Mourinho’s treatment of the midfielder has seen him come under fire from Bayern bosses and members of the world players’ union Fifpro.

He has been accused of “bullying” and Schweinsteiger has been advised to take United to court.

Schweinsteiger has not featured in any of United’s pre-season games and was even left out of the squad for Wayne Rooney’s testimonial against Everton in midweek.

“The manager decides his squad and chooses a certain number of players”

Jose Mourinho

But Mourinho insists he couldn’t care less and can do what he likes because he makes the decisions.

He said: “It is the same as in every club in the world.

“The manager decides his squad and chooses a certain number of players to face the season. That is it.

“I normally like to work with 20 players plus the three goalkeepers, which is what I have done for 15 years, because we have so many players but at the same time we have so many competitions and especially the Europa League.

“That is a competition that changes a lot at the start of the season, with 15 matches and playing on the Thursday, a big risk of a lot of travel.

“You play Premier League on Sundays. I made the decision to be with 23 plus three goalkeepers, which is still a lot. I had to make my decisions. It is simple.”

FROZEN OUT: Schweinsteiger hasn't featured in pre-season

            

   

Mourinho’s men take on Premier League champions Leicester in the Community Shield at Wembley tomorrow.

The United boss is backing the Foxes to cope with the new demands of defending their title and competing in the Champions League.

He added: “I think it will be a different season for them, but I think they can cope with the situation.

“They have a new experience playing the Champions League. It changes the profile of their season because they have a minimum of six matches to play in between league matches.

“But they have a better squad, they’ve brought in players, the manager is good and experienced. I think they can cope, I hope they can cope."