Bastian Schweinsteiger was one of the finest midfielders of a generation. Winning the 2014 World Cup with Germany and numerous honours with Bayern Munich, including the Champions League in 2014, he left a huge mark on football.
While best known for his time at Bayern, coming through the ranks as a youth player to become a club legend, he spent a brief spell in England towards the end of his career. Indeed, Schweinsteiger joined Manchester United in 2015 for two seasons, winning the FA Cup in 2016.
Speaking to Red Devils icon Rio Ferdinand in 2022, the German was asked to name his toughest career opponents. He selected three names, including one former Man United star.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
"I didn't like to play against Zlatan"
Having praised him in the past, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the first player to come to mind for Schweinsteiger. The pair actually played together at Old Trafford but only got on the pitch together on two occasions, winning games against West Ham and Saint-Etienne.
Ibrahimovic achieved plenty in the game and was one of many iconic footballers to represent Manchester United. Speaking fondly of the Swede, Schweinsteiger said:
"I didn't like to play against Zlatan when he was playing at Juventus, for example, or the [Swedish] national team. He's just a player who sees the third option on the field."
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Lionel Messi
"He can change the rhythm of a game in one movement"
Next up, Schweinsteiger spoke about players who caused him trouble, specifically in his role as a number six. It's no surprise that he praised Lionel Messi as a tricky customer. Of arguably the game's finest footballer, he said:
"Mostly it was like some smaller players, you know, like Messi obviously. He can change the rhythm of a game in one movement. He's not really working hard defensively, as you know, but he just does things. You know he's going on his left side but he just chips the ball over you're right foot, and that's really difficult to play against."
Franck Ribery
"He's so intelligent and so smart"
Finally, the German spoke about Franck Ribery as one of his toughest opponents. Fortunately, for Schweinsteiger, they were teammates, so his experience came from training. Even so, the French winger left a huge mark on the midfielder, who explained:
"You know actually, Franck Ribery. In training, playing against Franck Ribery was an absolute nightmare. He should have [won the 2013 Ballon d'Or] 100 percent in that year.
"In Germany, we compared him and Arjen Robben. Robben, you know most likely what he is going to do, he takes the ball inside and tries to hit it on his left, and you have to know his right foot is not really useful.
"But Ribery, he's so intelligent and so smart. You don't know if he'll go left or right, with speed. For me, he's a great player and very difficult to play against in training."
Stats via Transfermarkt