Western Sydney Wanderers have pulled off a coup, luring former Manchester United and France midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin to the Isuzu UTE A-League.
Schneiderlin has been plying his trade for Ligue 1 outfit Nice, coming up against superstars Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar but without an appearance in 2022-23, the experienced Frenchman has opted for a chance of scenery.
Step forward the third-placed Wanderers, who have signed the 33-year-old on loan for the remainder of the season.
“I am very excited to be here in Western Sydney with the Wanderers and I’m looking forward to starting my journey at the club,” said Schneiderlin.
“I have heard lots of good things about the Wanderers and I’m really ready to get started.”
The Frenchman has already arrived in Western Sydney and has linked up with the squad ahead of their clash with Central Coast Mariners on Saturday night (7:45 PM AEDT).
He already has an A-Leagues link, having gone head-to-head with Melbourne City’s Valon Berisha in a game between Nice and Reims in 2020.
Schneiderlin made a name for himself at Southampton, where he was part of teams that earned consecutive promotions to the Premier League.
The midfielder flourished under Mauricio Pochettino and then Ronald Koeman as the Saints took the Premier League by storm with Luke Shaw, Dejan Lovren and Adam Lallana among his teammates.
During his time at Southampton, he featured for France at the 2014 FIFA Men’s World Cup under Didier Deschamps.
Shaw then earned a big-money move to United in 2014, and Schneiderlin followed him to Old Trafford from Southampton the following year in a £27 million (A$47m) deal.
Schneiderlin – part of France’s Euro 2016 squad – worked with Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho at United, making 32 Premier League appearances and scoring once as he played alongside the likes of Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
He was also part of the team that won the FA Cup and Community Shield in 2016 before joining Everton in 2017.
After three years at Goodison Park and a stint with Carlo Ancelotti, Schneiderlin returned to his native France to join Nice in 2020.
At Nice, Schneiderlin amassed 29 league appearances and 40 across all competitions, including five in the UEFA Europa League.
He was also in the Nice squad that lost the 2022 Coupe de France final against Nantes 1-0 in front of more than 78,000 fans.
Schneiderlin arrives in Western Sydney, where Marko Rudan’s Wanderers are desperate to end their finals drought.
The Wanderers, who boast former Lyon defender Marcelo as captain, have not featured in the finals since 2016-17.
