Louis van Gaal has claimed that Bastian Schweinsteiger deserved more respect from Jose Mourinho in the midfielder's final campaign at Manchester United.
The 33-year-old was frozen out at Old Trafford by Mourinho following Van Gaal's sacking in May 2016, and eventually moved on to current club Chicago Fire.
Schweinsteiger, written off as a big loss in the club's financial accounts last March, admitted at the time to being disappointed about the way his United career ended.
Van Gaal, who brought Schweinsteiger to United in 2015, believes that Mourinho is to blame for the manner in which the saga played out in public.
"Schweinsteiger was, of course, older but not too old," he told Sport Bild. "His body was not able to keep up with the high demands of Premier League.
"Bayern sold him to us as fit player, but, in fact, physically he had reached the end. How Mourinho treated him after me, Schweini did not deserve this. But it explains the situation, how it stood with Schweinsteiger.
"It's a shame because he is a player like Luis Enrique, Mark van Bommel or Philipp Lahm - the guys who always present on the pitch."
Schweinsteiger made a total of 35 appearances for United, just four of which came under Mourinho.
Daniel Lewis
