Bastian Schweinsteiger: Paul Scholes has 'no idea' why midfielder is not starting ahead of Michael Carrick for Manchester United

Former midfielder believes the World Cup winner is a better option than pairing of Carrick and Morgan Schneiderlin

Bastian Schweinsteiger (GETTY IMAGES)

Paul Scholes says he has "no idea" why Louis van Gaal is opting to play a midfield pairing of Michael Carrick and Morgan Schneiderlin rather than use Bastian Schweinsteiger from the start.

The World Cup winner was named on the bench for Manchester United's Champions League play-off first leg against Club Brugge, something that surprised their former midfielder.

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When asked why Schweinsteiger wasn't in the team, Scholes said on BT Sport: "I have absolutely no idea."

"I was driving to the ground, thinking he would be playing. I think Carrick and Schneiderlin are a bit too similar. Okay, they protect the back four brilliantly but do we get as much at the other end?"

He continued: "When you think of teams that have players that link the team together you think of Real Madrid where you've got [Toni] Kroos and [Luka] Modric, at Barcelona you've got [Sergio] Busquets and [Andres] Iniesta and I think this lad (Schweinsteiger), he definitely did that at Bayern Munich and with the Germany team and I think he should be doing it at Manchester United."