Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 8y

Manuel Neuer 'sad' at Bastian Schweinsteiger's Man United absence

Manuel Neuer thinks it's "sad" supporters cannot see "one of the best midfielders in the world" following Bastian Schweinsteiger being frozen out at Manchester United amid reports of low ticket sales for the Germany captain's final international match next week.

Schweinsteiger, 32, has yet to feature under new United boss Jose Mourinho, with sources telling ESPN FC that the club want him to secure him an exit before Aug. 31's deadline while the player himself has said he will not sign for another European club.

Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, his former Germany and Bayern teammate Neuer has called Schweinsteiger's situation "bitter and sad" after earlier this month calling Mourinho's decision hard to understand.

The Germany goalkeeper said: "We know how important Basti has been for all team, be it Bayern or the Nationalmannschaft. For me he's always been one of the best midfielders in the world, and he still is. That's why it's sad the footballing world now can't see him."

Germany fans will have the chance to bid goodbye to their former captain when Joachim Low's side take on Finland at Monchengladbach in a friendly next week.

However, according to a report in Die Welt, only 15,000 tickets had been sold for the match at the 44,000-capacity Borussia Park despite fairly low ticket prices and the prospect of seeing Schweinsteiger win his 121st and last cap for the national team.

Following Schweinsteiger's retirement from international football in late July, Low has yet to announce who will succeed the midfielder as Germany's captain.

Bayern defender Jerome Boateng has already said that he would not reject the captain's armband, and that he would love to become the nation's first black captain.

Neuer is another candidate for the captaincy and on Wednesday he said that he's "very relaxed" about the decision.

The shot-stopper led Germany in five of the six Euro 2016 games this summer, and believes that "there are no reasons against a keeper becoming the captain."

However, Neuer added that Low has to make the call, and "we could always trust him in recent years, and knew that he will make the right decision."

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