Goal Exclusive :United Executives in Munich

Manchester United have opened talks over an £18 million move for Bayern Munich star Bastian Schweinsteiger after club officials flew out to Germany, Goal.com UK can reveal.

United executives held talks with Schweinsteiger's representatives in Munich on Thursday and were still in the German city on Friday as they look to beat Chelsea and Real Madrid to his signature next summer.
Schweinsteiger's contract at Bayern Munich expires in June 2012 and speculation has intensified over his future as he has so far rejected the German club's attempts to persuade him to sign a new contract.
United have indicated that they are willing to match Bayern's offer of £140,000-a-week in wages over a five-year contract, and Goal.com UK understands Schweinsteiger has indicated he is keen to take on a new challenge away from the Bundesliga.
A January deal has even been mooted in some quarters but Bayern are determined to do everything they can to convince Schweinsteiger to sign a new contract and will not entertain selling him until the summer. The Bavarian club have offered him a huge increase on his current £100,000-a-week deal and are ready to make him the highest paid player at the club.

Bayern president Uli Hoeness has said it is "incredibly important" for the club to keep the central midfielder but he could now be set for Old Trafford after holding secret talks with United officials at a Munich hotel.
Sir Alex Ferguson was not present at the clandestine meetings but the United manager has made the Germany World Cup star his number one transfer target as he looks to rebuild his squad next summer with a £50m transfer kitty.
The relationship between the two clubs is already frosty from the £17m deal that took Owen Hargreaves to United from the German club in the summer of 2007.
They could be heading for another clash as United look set to poach Schweinsteiger, who has spent his whole career at Bayern and, according to some reports, was close to signing a new deal with the Bavarian giants.
United were beaten to the signing of Mesut Oezil by Real Madrid last summer but are determined to land Schweinsteiger, who would cost a cut-price £18m next summer as Bayern would want to recoup some sort of transfer fee.
Ferguson has identified Schweinsteiger – known for his creative passing and drive – as the natural successor to Paul Scholes, who is 36 and closing in on retirement.
The German midfielder recently revealed that his brother constantly asks him to consider a move to United, and he could now be ready to leave Germany, where Bayern currently lie seventh in the league.
Defender Philipp Lahm, midfielder Franck Ribery and forward Thomas Mueller have all recently signed new deals to keep them at the Allianz Arena, but FC Hollywood now look set to lose Schweinsteiger.

Charity Shield,Ozil Saga,Rooney and Scholes Phenomenon

Sir Alex Ferguson refused to confirm or deny his interest in signing Germany star Mesut Ozil following Manchester United's Community Shield victory.

United boss Ferguson was at Craven Cottage on Saturday, when Ozil's Werder Bremen side were playing Fulham in a pre-season friendly.

Ferguson hinted he was an admirer of the 21-year-old midfielder - one of the best players at this summer's World Cup - but asked if he was interested in bringing the playmaker to Old Trafford, he replied cryptically: "I don't know."

He added: "I think a lot of clubs would be interested in Ozil.

"At the moment, I think we've got a great squad. I don't need to add to it - that's my opinion. I trust them.

"But, as I said, there are a lot of clubs interested in him."

Ferguson was happy with United's performance against Chelsea this afternoon, which saw them run out 3-1 winners at Wembley.

But he was even more pleased with being able to give a number of his players a much-needed run-out, including Wayne Rooney.

The England striker put his World Cup misery behind him to impressive in a 45-minute cameo that saw him lay on United's opener with an inch-perfect cross for Antonio Valencia.

Ferguson said: "The making of the goal, marvellous run and first-time ball; I don't think Antonio could've missed it. It was a magnificent ball in."

The United boss was also effusive about Rooney's half-time replacement, Javier Hernandez, who marked his debut with a bizarre goal.

The Mexico striker slipped trying to turn in Valencia's cross and ended up kicking the ball against his own face and into the net.

Salomon Kalou pulled a goal back for double-winners Chelsea, who also went close to levelling before substitute Dimitar Berbatov sealed the win in stoppage time.

Ferguson hit out at the critics who have questioned whether the Bulgarian has lived up to his £32million price tag since joining United.

But the United boss saved the biggest plaudits to the evergreen Paul Scholes, who gave a midfield masterclass to earn the man-of-the-match award.

Ferguson had to talk Scholes out of retirement at the end of last season, but admitted he had also considered putting the midfielder out to pasture.

"This time last season, he's saying to himself, 'This is my last season' - and a lot of people thought that," Ferguson said.

"It came across my mind also, simply because he's had a lot of injuries in his career. He keeps coming back; it's not easy to do that.

"It's a phenomenon that he goes out there, becomes man of the match, approaching his 36th birthday.

"He's just an incredible footballer."

Scholes was partnered by Michael Carrick, who was a shock starter two days after Ferguson had ruled him out for two weeks with an ankle injury.

"On Friday, I was certain he was out for two weeks," Ferguson said.

"He came in yesterday, says he was fit, wanted to train, trained, and wanted to play.

"The minute he says he's fit, we had to play him, simply because he needs game time."