Bayern Munich president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has hit out at Manchester United after their treatment towards German legend Bastian Schweinsteiger. The former German captain, who retired from international football last month, has been deemed surplus to requirements at Manchester United and manager Jose Mourinho has banished the 32-year-old to the reserve team.

Schweinsteiger was not among the 22 players used by Mourinho in Wayne Rooney’s testimonial match against Everton on Wednesday and has apparently been told that he is not part of the plans for the forthcoming season.

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has since hit out at United’s treatment of the player, saying that players in the future will think long and hard about joining the club.

“I could hardly believe it. One or two players are going to think long and hard in future about whether they want to go to such a club,” Rummenigge said.

“Nothing like that has ever happened at Bayern Munich.”

Schweinsteiger has had a glittering career and will go down as one of the best players of his generation. The midfielder has won eight Bundesliga titles, seven DFB-Pokals and Champions League at Bayern, as well as holding a World Cup winners medal for Germany. He has only been at United for 12 months, but his lack of fitness and whole range of injuries has made it an easy decision for Mourinho for the veteran to leave the club. Schweinsteiger has been linked with a move back to Bayern Munich this summer, but manager Carlo Ancelotti says the player will not return.

Ottmar Hitzfeld, who gave Schweinsteiger his professional debut at the age of 18 and won the Bundesliga with him in 2003, has also condemned the situation.

“It’s a lack of respect for a worthy player,” Hitzfeld said.

“It’s a method which is strange to me. Schweinsteiger is a key player, a world champion, a personality, while at the same time he has an exceptional attitude.”

[Quotes via Sky Sports]

It certainly is a sad situation unfolding at United with regards to Schweinsteiger, and one that is probably the right one on Mourinho’s part who will believe the player is well past his best and not fit enough to help mount a serious title challenge. However the club’s treatment of the player is a little embarrassing to say the least! To banish a player to the reserves seems a step too far and is nothing short of disrespectful. There are always two sides to every story though, and perhaps Schweinsteiger’s situation mirrors that of Victor Valdes’ not so long ago.