Footballer Bastian Schweinsteiger announces retirement

German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger announced his retirement from football on Tuesday. The 2014 FIFA World Cup winner issued a statement on his social media accounts in his native German and English, where he thanked the teams he has been associated with and said that the 'Now the time has come'. Schweinsteiger has to lead a distinguished career where he has played for the National team for 121 times, winning football's greatest honour, the World Cup in 2014.

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'Exciting challenges await'

In a statement, Schweinsteiger said, "Dear fans, the time has now come, and I will be finishing my active career at the end of this season. I would like to thank both you, my teams FC Bayern, Manchester United, Chicago Fire and the German national team. You made this unbelievable time possible for me! And of course, I would like to thank my wife Ana Ivanovic and my family for their support. Saying goodbye as an active player makes me feel a little nostalgic, but I am also looking forward to the exciting challenges that await me soon. I will remain faithful to football. Many, many thanks for the time we spent together, I will always have a place for you in my heart! Yours, Basti."

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Golden career

Schweinsteiger's career started when he started German club Bayern Munich in 1998 as a youngster, and he made his senior debut in 2002. He made over 500 appearances for the club, winning eight Bundesliga league titles, seven DFB Pokal Cup wins and the 2013 UEFA Champions League. He then moved to English Premier League club Manchester United in 2015, where he could not impress and was unfairly treated by then-manager Jose Mourinho. Schweinsteiger moved to the Major League Soccer (MLS) team Chicago Fire in 2017 where he played 85 times, scoring eight goals and providing 15 assists. He guided the team to an MLS-play off in his first season and was named the club’s player of the season in 2018.

The player, who the German football fans refer to as 'fußballgott' , received praise from all areas for a wonderful career.

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