Man Utd chief was convinced transfer would 'send shiver down the spine of rivals'

Man Utd chief was convinced transfer would 'send shiver down the spine of rivals'

Ed Woodward signed his fair share of flops during his ill-fated reign as Manchester United executive vice-chairman, but was left red-faced by one in particular after his failed spell

Ed Woodward made bold statements about Bastian Schweinsteiger (Image: PA)

Ed Woodward believed that Manchester United's 2015 acquisition of Bastian Schweinsteiger would "send shivers down the spines of rivals," only for the player to turn out to be a sensational flop. Woodward joined the board of directors of Old Trafford as an executive vice-chairman in 2012, before assuming David Gill's role of CEO the following year.

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And while the now 53-year-old aimed to hit the ground running with regards to welcoming fresh faces to the Red Devils squad, many of his transfers completely missed the mark. For instance, Woodward was at the helm when Paul Pogba' returned to United from Juventus in August 2016 in a mammoth deal.

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Of course, Pogba came through the youth system at United in 2011 before joining the Serie A stalwarts for a reported £1.5million the following year. But four years later, realising the error of their ways, the Red Devils board opted to bring him back to Old Trafford for a then-world-record fee of £89m.

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However, Pogba then returned to Juventus once more in 2022 on a free transfer, failing to recuperate even a fraction of the fee that they had spent bringing their academy graduate back to the northwest of England six years earlier. Pogba was just one of many expensive signings during Woodward's time at the club that failed to live up to expectations.

Woodward was also at the helm when Schweinsteiger arrived from Bayern Munich in a £6.5m deal back in 2015, a move which on paper looked like a steal for the 13-time Premier League winners.

After progressing through the Bavarian youth system in 2002, Schweinsteiger spent 13 years with Bayern, lifting eight Bundesliga titles, nine domestic cups and a Champions League. He also managed 121 caps for Germany and lifted the 2014 World Cup, before being named team captain following Philipp Lahm's retirement from international football.

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Given his wealth of experience at the highest levels, Woodward went as far as claiming that Schweinsteiger would leave rivals quaking in their boots when coming up against the midfield maestro shortly after his arrival in England. He was quoted as saying at the time: "It’s fantastic to see a player like that come to Manchester United.

"He’s our first ever German, and what a German – he’s won absolutely everything and comes here with fantastic experience. When people see Bastian on the team sheet, that’s going to send some shivers down the spine."

Ed Woodward was quick to praise Bastian Schweinsteiger after his arrival from Bayern (Image: Getty Images)

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However, the reality is that Woodward may have set unreasonable expectations on the star, given how his tenure with the Premier League giants actually played out. During his maiden season with United, Schweinsteiger spent more than 130 days sidelined through injury.

And when Jose Mourinho took the reins of the club from Louis van Gaal in the spring of 2016, he made it clear that Schweinsteiger was not part of his plans going forward, demoting the player to training with the U23 set-up in a move he faced heavy criticism for and that he has since admitted was a big mistake.

Schweinsteiger failed to find his footing with Manchester United (Image: Manchester Evening News)

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Schweinsteiger played for United just 35 times over the course of his two-year stint with the club before he moved on to MLS outfit Chicago Fire in 2017. There, he scored eight goals and created 11 assists in 92 outings before retiring in 2019.

Woodward, meanwhile, announced in 2021 that he would be resigning from his position at Manchester United. He parted ways with the club on February 1, 2022, but has since returned to work, having been appointed to the board of trustees for Bloomsbury Football Foundation last year.

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