Former Germany national team manager Joachim Löw has referred to Schweinsteiger as one of the greatest players the country has ever produced.

Since his retirement as a player in 2019, Schweinsteiger has worked as an on-air football analyst for German television broadcaster ARD and its weekend programme Sportschau.

[7] Having won the German youth championship in July 2002, Schweinsteiger quickly earned a place in the reserves,[8] producing a string of solid third-division displays.

After just two training sessions with the first team, coach Ottmar Hitzfeld gave Schweinsteiger his debut, at the age of 18,[7] as a late substitute in a UEFA Champions League game against RC Lens in November 2002, and the youngster made an immediate impact, creating a goal for Markus Feulner within minutes.

[12] Over the next three seasons, up until the end of 2007–08, Schweinsteiger made 135 appearances in all competitions for Bayern Munich (Champions League, Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal), scoring 10 goals in the process.

[14] On 25 April 2012, Schweinsteiger scored from the last and match-clinching penalty kick against Real Madrid to send Bayern through to the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final, where they would face Chelsea.

With the shoot-out poised at 3–3, Petr Čech tipped Schweinsteiger's shot onto the post, allowing Didier Drogba to seal the title for Chelsea with the next kick.

[35] His Premier League debut came on 8 August, as a 60th-minute substitute for Michael Carrick as the season began with a 1–0 home victory over Tottenham Hotspur, being booked eight minutes into his first appearance for a foul on Nacer Chadli.

[37] On 7 December 2015, Schweinsteiger was punished with a three-match retrospective ban by The Football Association for striking West Ham United's Winston Reid in the throat in their meeting two days earlier.

[41] He returned to first team training towards the end of 2016, and made his first appearance since March when he came on as a late substitute in the EFL Cup quarter-final against West Ham United on 30 November 2016.

[42] He made his first start in over a year in a 4–0 win in the FA Cup fourth round home tie against Wigan Athletic on 29 January 2017, in which he scored his first Old Trafford goal for Manchester United with an overhead finish.

[44] On 21 March 2017, Manchester United allowed Schweinsteiger to join Major League Soccer side Chicago Fire, subject to a medical and a visa being secured.

[53] On 5 August, he scored a long-range goal to level the scoreline after coming on as a substitute in the second half, but his side were defeated in a 2–1 away loss against Real Salt Lake.

[57] A few days after his retirement from active sports in October 2019, the ARD announced that Schweinsteiger would be accompanying live broadcasts of football matches as an expert in Qatar for the next three years up to and including the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

In the second match against Croatia, he was shown a straight red card for reacting to a challenge from Jerko Leko as Germany succumbed to a shock 2–1 defeat.

[68] After serving his suspension by missing the game against Austria, he returned to the starting line-up in the quarterfinal against Portugal, as Löw reverted to the old 4–4–2 formation when Gómez was benched after failing to make an impression.

[73] Germany was able to rally for a 3–2 victory over Uruguay in the third-place match, and, with Philipp Lahm resting on the bench because of illness, Schweinsteiger served as captain.

He played five matches – once against each opponent: Belgium, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Austria and Turkey – and helped Germany win 10 out of 10 games, scoring once and providing one assist.

Schweinsteiger started all five of Germany's matches at the UEFA Euro 2012 finals and assisted both of Mario Gómez goals in the 2–1 Group B win over rivals the Netherlands.

[78] After making a substitute appearance in the team's second match against Ghana, Schweinsteiger was selected to start in the third group game against the United States.

[81] On 23 March 2016 he sustained damage on his knee while he was training with the national team which made him miss the rest of the Premier League season but he recovered just in time to be selected for Germany's 27-man provisional squad for UEFA Euro 2016.

Schweinsteiger possessed a fearsome shot from range, as well as excellent crossing and a wicked delivery from set-pieces, while his boundless energy also serves him well.

[90][91][92][93][95][96][97] Dubbed the "Midfield Motor",[98] Schweinsteiger was also a superb reader of the game and scored spectacularly due to his good positioning.

[100] Jonathan Wilson, when writing for The Guardian during the same year, labelled Schweinsteiger as a type holding midfielder that he described as a "carrier" or "surger," namely "a player capable of making late runs or carrying the ball at his feet.

"[102] During his time with Chicago, Schweinsteiger was also occasionally deployed as a central defender or sweeper in a three-man back-line, in addition to his usual role in midfield, courtesy of his vision and defensive skills; in this deeper role, he was not only given defensive responsibilities, such as marking opposing players, but was also given offensive duties, and was tasked with playing the ball out from the back, retaining possession, advancing into midfield, and controlling the play.

[107] He is known to fans as "Schweini" or "Basti", the latter to distinguish him from his elder brother, Tobias, a professional footballer who also played for Bayern Munich, albeit in the reserve team.