Morgan Schneiderlin says he ‘only has himself to blame’ for failure at Manchester United

Former Manchester United midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin feels that he only has himself to blame for his failed move to the Old Trafford club. The Frenchman signed for United from Southampton in the summer of 2015 in a £25 million deal, arriving with former Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger – both nicknamed ‘Schmidfield’.

United were in the early stages of their transition which never seemed to come following the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson and at the time of his arrival it was suggested that United might actually have a decent midfield once against with the Frenchman and the German combining – however, it was not meant to be.

Schneiderlin arrived under the management of Louis van Gaal but he was sacked two seasons into his career with Jose Mourinho replacing him in May 2016 and a year later, the Frenchman was sold to Everton. The player does not have any hard feelings against the club or Mourinho and seems to blame himself for his failings, which is professional.

Schneiderlin made a total of 47 appearances at United, scoring one goal and one assist during his time at the club. After being sold to Everton, things did not work out for him there either, him making 88 appearances, scoring one goal and two assists. The player is now at OGC Nice in his native France. Speaking Nice-Matin about his time at United, Schneiderlin said:

“In terms of the commercial side, all the aspects off the pitch and on the pitch make it for me the biggest club in the world.

“It was a source of pride for me [to play there], an honour.

“I would have preferred my time there to be longer, that it took a different direction. But it is certainly my fault, I should have been more patient yet again.

“But I don’t regret it at all, it was a fantastic experience.”

The player struggled to hold down his place in the team following Van Gaol’s departure from the club and it is good to see a professional player holding himself accountable for the problems he faced, whether he means it or not. Of course, Mourinho could have been part of the problems but that could be between him and the player. On him leaving the club, Mourinho stated:

“Great professional, fantastic boy, very honest, very open and opens his heart a couple of times.

“My answer is simple: if he’s playing regular with me I have the right to say no way.

“”If he’s not playing regular I have no right to tell a player that wants to be happy – to say to a player you’re going nowhere.”

Everton soon came in for Schneiderlin when they were seeking to rise from the mid-table of the Premier League and make themselves counted, which is something that still has not happened yet. United recouped much of the fee they gave to Southampton for the player, which was a bonus. He became a first team regular again and is now back in France as a player for Nice, which he denies having involvement in the transfer, saying:

“I experienced several years in Manchester where it rained all the time. That never scared me. The number one criteria was football related.

“I wanted to leave already last year, I was close to doing so, but [Everton] held me back, saying that they were really counting on me for this season, but that they would allow me to leave the following summer.

“I said to the sporting director to close all other negotiations. I had chosen Nice and I was not going to go anywhere else. From that moment on, they were very classy.”