Bastian Schweinsteiger insists Manchester United will be his last club in Europe

After intense speculation that he wants to leave, the German insisted that the Old Trafford club will be the last stop in a glittering European career.

The 32-year-old has been left out of every competitive match-day squad by manager Jose Mourinho and some in Germany have called for him to return to Bayern Munich whilst expressing outrage over the way he has been treated.

But Schweinsteiger posted a statement on Twitter, which read: "MUFC will be my last club in Europe. 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 needs me. This is all I can say about the current situation. I want to thank the fans for the amazing support over the recent weeks."

Schweinsteiger joined United last summer from Bayern but he struggled for form and fitness and didn't feature too regularly under Louis van Gaal.

Mourinho has made it clear that he is happy with the 23-man squad that he has now, with the Portuguese manager preferring to always work with smaller groups throughout his career.

United face Hull City at the weekend and they will be looking to make it three wins out of three in the Premier League following on from their victories over Bournemouth and Southampton.

The part of the statement relating to Europe is crucial here as it both rules out a return to Bayern whilst also keeping his options open to a move away from the Champions League and Europa League elite.

The two obvious destinations at this moment in time are the MLS and China, two leagues with a reputation of signing big name players as they reach the end of their career. Both are plausible but MLS would perhaps seem like the more logical option.

Last summer before his move to United Schweinsteiger was linked with a move to America and he would hardly be the first German player to move across the pond; with the two countries seeing plenty of player movement as well as a number of dual nationality players in the US.

Furthermore in the past Schweinsteiger has been complimentary of the country, telling the LA Times last summer "The quality is going to be better and better. And I could see that. We will see what happens in the future. But to be honest, I like the States."