Big things were expected of Bastian Schweinsteiger when he joined Manchester United from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2015.The German World Cup winner, widely regarded as one of the best central midfielders of his generation, was only 30 years old and appeared to have plenty of football left in him.But the warning signs were there from the beginning - and Louis van Gaal failed to heed them.First and foremost, why were Bayern prepared to sell Schweinsteiger? He was a big personality in the dressing room, after all, and was an immensely popular figure at the Allianz Arena.Secondly, Bayern accepted United’s £6.5 million offer. Why would the German giants sell one of their so-called key players for such a paltry fee?

Guardiola knew what would happen

Bayern clearly felt that Schweinsteiger, who made 15 Bundesliga appearances during his final season at the Allianz Arena, was past his best - and this was effectively confirmed by Pep Guardiola at a press conference in a Munich hotel shortly after the midfielder’s move to Old Trafford.

Asked if he thought Schweinsteiger would be a success at United, Guardiola was quoted by the Daily Mail as saying: “When he does not have injury problems I am completely convinced he will do very well at Manchester United.”

Note the mention of the injury problems. Guardiola obviously wasn’t convinced that Schweinsteiger could keep himself fit.

“Unfortunately, the last three years he was never in good condition,” Guardiola continued, before sympathetically adding: “He is going to play really good there — I really hope that is going to happen.”

Hope being the operative word.

Mourinho clearly agreed with Guardiola

Guardiola was right to be cautious with his words of optimism. Schweinsteiger’s track record suggested he wouldn’t be able to stay fit and so it proved.

Jose Mourinho had made his mind up about the veteran midfielder from the moment he joined the Red Devils last summer.

The Portuguese coach allowed Schweinsteiger to make four appearances for United this season - presumably to keep him in the shop window - and now he’s been offloaded to Chicago Fire.

According to Manchester Evening News journalist Samuel Luckhurst, Schweinsteiger was paid up by United for the remainder of his contract. The Red Devils received no transfer fee for the sale.