Schweinsteiger officially an asset to Man United again

Bastian Schweinsteiger’s reintegration into Jose Mourinho’s first-team squad at Manchester United was given an official stamp by the Premier League club’s latest published accounts.

Schweinsteiger was told he had no future at Old Trafford under Mourinho earlier this season and September’s first quarter results from United noted they had written off £6.7million from their overall assets “related to a registrations’ impairment charge regarding a reduction in the carrying value of a player no longer considered to be a member of the first team playing squad”.

The 32-year-old subsequently returned to the fray with a pair of brief substitute cameos before making a first United start for 386 days in the FA Cup fourth-round win over Wigan.

Schweinsteiger marked the occasion with his first Old Trafford goal and was added to Mourinho’s playing group for the knockout stages of the Europa League the following week.

A great evening with a fantastic win in front of our fans! Thanks to everyone for the great support! #mufc pic.twitter.com/0HIHuxsgXA

— Basti Schweinsteiger (@BSchweinsteiger) January 29, 2017

In United’s second quarter results, the ex-Germany captain’s return was apparently alluded to under the “Exceptional items” heading, adding an asset value of £4.8m.

The entry read: “Exceptional credit for the quarter was £4.8 million, relating to a reversal of a registrations’ impairment charge for a player now considered to be re-established as a member of the first-team playing squad.”

Operating profits at United were £37.6m for the latest quarter, with the club on course to deliver record revenues for the year, according to executive vice chairman Ed Woodward.

This is despite net debt rising 27 per cent, when compared against the same period form last year, to £409.3m – something attributed to the collapse of the pound’s value following the UK’s vote to leave the European Union.