MUNICH: Germany captain and Bayern Munich icon Bastian Schweinsteiger is leaving the club to join Manchester United.
The 30-year-old midfielder will be reunited with former Bayern coach Louis van Gaal, who is preparing for his second season in charge of United.
"We tried to convince him to stay at Bayern Munich, but I have a bit of understanding for a player who has been 17 years at the club, that he wants to try something different," Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said Saturday.
Rummenigge said the clubs were still in talks over the last details and that Schweinsteiger needs to complete a medical with the Premier League side. However, the transfer is all but completed.
"We sanctioned the move at his request," Rummenigge said. "We part as great friends."
Schweinsteiger scored 45 goals and set up 70 more in 342 league games for Bayern. He joined the club's youth sides from Rosenheim in 1998 and went on to win the Bundesliga a joint-record eight times, matching former club stalwarts Mehmet Scholl and Oliver Kahn. He also won the German Cup seven times and the Champions League once, when Bayern claimed the treble in 2013.
Schweinsteiger was named Germany captain following Bayern teammate Philipp Lahm's retirement from the national team after winning the World Cup last year. However, he subsequently missed months of last season through injury.
German daily Bild reported Friday that Schweinsteiger, who has a year remaining on his Bayern contract, is joining on a three-year deal in a transfer worth around $20 million.
Rummenigge said the player had received a "lucrative offer."
"He had this desire (to leave) and it's an understandable wish for a player coming to the end of his career," Rummenigge said. "With Bastian it was a special situation because he was so long at the club. I can assure fans that we will not be letting any more players go to Manchester United."
