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MANCHESTER. — Manchester United players told Bastian Schweinsteiger to stop watching tennis and get fit when the Germany star was out injured last season. Sportsmail understands a group of furious senior Old Trafford stars, fed up with seeing pictures of their team-mate watching his now-wife Ana Ivanovic as they laboured towards a fifth-place finish, approached the World Cup winner to make their feelings clear.Outcast Schweinsteiger was informed in no uncertain terms that members of the squad were tired of seeing him globe-trotting while they thought he should have been concentrating on his recovery in Manchester.

The 32-year-old midfielder was told pictures of him supporting Serb Ivanovic in Miami and Madrid while United tried in vain to secure a top-four finish were sending out the wrong messages to the club’s youngsters and its fans.

The images also influenced new manager Jose Mourinho, who decided that Schweinsteiger had no future with United before he arrived at the club.

The ex-Bayern Munich player started just 13 league matches last season and has now been frozen out of the first team and ordered to train with the Under-23s.

Schweinsteiger broke his silence to tell the club via Twitter that he is prepared to sit out the remaining two years of his contract at Old Trafford.

It was widely expected the German would leave before the end of the month, but he insisted he will not join another European club, and will be ready to play for United again if he is needed.

“MUFC will be my last club in Europe,” wrote Schweinsteiger.

“I respect other clubs, but Manchester United was the only one which could make me leave Bayern Munich.

“I will be ready, if the team need me. This is all I can say about my current situation. I want to thank the fans for their amazing support over recent weeks.”

A move to the United States makes sense and would be suited to Schweinsteiger’s tennis star wife Ivanovic.

However, the transfer window for the MLS will not re-open until February. It is a similar story in China where the window for Super League clubs opens again in January.

One option would be for Schweinsteiger to negotiate a severance package on the remaining two years of his £160 000-a-week contract and leave as a free agent.

Under those terms, he would still be able to join an MLS club until September 15.

United will certainly not stand in Schweinsteiger’s way after Mourinho told the player to find another club.

They only paid £6.6million for the former Germany captain last summer and may be prepared to let him leave for nothing if it saves them £16m in wages and the awkward situation of having one of the world’s most decorated players (see right) sitting on the sidelines.

United could also face some difficult decisions over fringe players like Matteo Darmian, Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones before the window closes, although Watford are the latest club to be told that Jones is staying at Old Trafford.

Even though United have indicated that their summer transfer business is concluded, Mourinho feels his squad would benefit from a more experienced centre back such as Southampton’s Jose Fonte or a specialist right back like Fabinho at Monaco.

His agent Jorge Mendes was due in Manchester yesterday for talks with City over Eliaquim Mangala’s future and was expected to meet with Mourinho over possible targets. — The Daily Mail.