Why Bayern Munich Are Right Not to Re-Sign Bastian Schweinsteiger

Over the years, Bayern Munich have developed a reputation for being the kind of club that takes care of their own. Gerd Muller gave the best years of his playing career to the Bavarian giants, and after he struggled with alcohol addiction during his retirement, the club gave him a sense of purpose by bringing him in as a youth squad coach.

Holger Badstuber was a hometown hero and loyal servant to the club, so after he tore an anterior cruciate ligament in late 2012, the club offered him a contract extension. It was the right thing to do.

Now another of Bayern's hometown heroes finds himself at the nadir of his career: Bastian Schweinsteiger. He's been demoted to the Manchester United reserves, and although it is the prerogative of any coach to do the best he can with the personnel he has, it looked awfully spiteful of Jose Mourinho to force a World Cup and Champions League winner to play with the second string.

In response, Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge slammed Mourinho repeatedly in various outlets, as reported by the Press Association (h/t the Guardian).

"I could hardly believe it. One or two players are going to think long and hard in future about whether they want to go to such a club. Nothing like that has ever happened at Bayern Munich," he told Bild.

"It’s a lack of respect for a worthy player," he said to RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland. "It’s a method which is strange to me. Schweinsteiger is a key player, a world champion, a personality, while at the same time he has an exceptional attitude."

Rummenigge's words were somewhat curious given that Schweinsteiger only left Bayern for Manchester United after it was apparent he was no longer needed at the Allianz Arena. But he did have a point that banishing the 32-year-old to a reserve team before he could find another club to play for was quite cruel.

With Schweinsteiger's career at Old Trafford apparently over and Bayern's CEO so quick to defend him, it was natural for some to question whether the German record champions would be willing to take him back to the club he represented for 17 years as a youth and senior player.

But Rummenigge was fast to pour cold water on speculation of a reunion with Schweinsteiger, telling mixed reporters at a press conference: "I regret that what is happening to him just now. But we have not entertained any thought of getting him back."

A fairy tale return for Schweinsteiger would make a great story for writers, but with all things considered, it is the right thing for Rummenigge to rule out signing the veteran.

The fact is, there is no room for Schweinsteiger in the Bayern team. Since he left, the German giants have signed Arturo Vidal (seemingly as his direct replacement) and Renato Sanches.

The former was absolutely immense last season and still has a couple years left at the highest level. The latter looks set to become a key building block in the club's midfield for years to come, as his outstanding performances for Portugal at Euro 2016 indicated his readiness even at the age of 18.

And Joshua Kimmich, also a youngster, is well on his way to becoming a star of the Bayern team as well after breaking into Joachim Low's Germany squad (albeit out of position at right-back).

If there wasn't room for Schweinsteiger in the Bayern team a year ago, there certainly isn't now. The club are in a transition phase, replacing and preparing to replace the old guard (namely Schweinsteiger, Philipp Lahm, Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben) bit by bit.

Schweinsteiger is not Badstuber: He hasn't missed several years of his career with injuries. He can still put in a good shift and be a useful player at a decent club, just perhaps not at a club so ambitious that they are willing to break a transfer-fee record to sign Paul Pogba in the same position. Nor at a club that let him go only a year ago to sign a younger replacement and multiple top prospects for the central-midfield roles.

The "fairy tale return" is something that rarely works out in any case. Borussia Dortmund have re-signed Nuri Sahin, Shinji Kagawa and now Mario Gotze after each of the aforementioned failed to impress after being sold elsewhere. Neither Sahin nor Kagawa are what they once were, while Gotze's ability now is also in serious question.

But Dortmund are a team with less resources, so taking a risk on a "fallen star" is more within their scope of transfer activities than it would be at Bayern. Not to mention each of the aforementioned returned to Dortmund well before the age of 30; Schweinsteiger's age puts a big question mark over whether he'll be able to recover his old form at any club.

There is likely a future for Schweinsteiger at Bayern if he chooses it, but that future is unlikely to be one as a first-team footballer. Maybe he'll return to the club one day. But for now, if he intends to keep playing, it's the right decision for Bayern not to make any promises they can't keep.

@Mr_Bundesliga