Schweinsteiger's Bayern future unclear

Bayern Munich's director of sport Matthias Sammer admitted Wednesday that Bastian Schweinsteiger's future remains unclear at the German league giants with rumours swirling linking him to Manchester United.

The 30-year-old Germany captain has a year left on his Bayern contract and having collected eight Bundesliga winners medals in 13 seasons, he is one of the top earners at the Bavarian giants.

Bayern's vice-captain recently said he is relishing the prospect of trying to win an historic fourth consecutive German league title next season, which would be a first for any Bundesliga club.

But British media claim Louis van Gaal's United are set to swoop for the defensive midfielder and Sammer says anything is possible.

"Basically, nothing is excluded," said Sammer when asked about Schweinsteiger in a press conference as Bayern announced the signing of Brazil forward Douglas Costa.

"It's a crazy world. He has clearly expressed that he is an important part of the team, but let's see. We're still waiting."

Schweinsteiger told German broadcaster ARD that he will talk to Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge about his future this summer and was one of several Germany stars missing at Wednesday's first pre-season training session in Munich.

"I've still got a year on my contract, so there's no rush and the summer's only just beginning," he said last week.

At the end of last season, Schweinsteiger was coy when asked directly about Manchester United by Sky, simply repeating that he still has a year left on his contract.

Having given a commanding performance in the World Cup final win over Argentina, Schweinsteiger has endured an injury-ravaged season, playing in 20 of Bayern's 34 league games on the way to their third straight Bundesliga title.  
Source: AFP