Bastian Schweinsteiger retires from international football

He's still on Manchester United's books for the moment, but Bastian Schweinsteiger has announced his retirement from international football. He ends his career with 120 caps and a 2014 World Cup winners' medal, and he was arguably the best player on the pitch as Germany overcame Argentina in the final. He finished third in two other World Cups as well, which isn't bad going by anybody's standards.

Plenty of players have taken such a step in an attempt to extend their club careers, though arguably the time for that in Schweinsteiger's case came after 2014; certainly, he didn't contribute much to Germany's campaign in Euro 2016. There's no mention of club retirement, but whether this persuades Jose Mourinho that he's got another Premier League season in those creaking knees remains to be seen.

Here's his statement. It's a little bit entirely in German, a language that eludes this particular aspect of tBB. However, out good friend Mr G. Translate tells us that the tweet reads "Thanks to all for a great time!" And who can argue with that?

Vielen Dank an alle für die tolle Zeit! #DieMannschaft pic.twitter.com/kNrLa7eDvE

— Basti Schweinsteiger (@BSchweinsteiger) July 29, 2016