Zlatan Ibrahimovic should make the move to MLS - Bastian Schweinsteiger

Chicago Fire midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has called on Zlatan Ibrahimovic to follow him in making the move from Manchester United to Major League Soccer.

Schweinsteiger left United to sign with Chicago last month, having struggled to force himself into Jose Mourinho's first-team plans at Old Trafford this season.

Ibrahimovic, whose current United deal is due to expire at the end of the current campaign, has been linked with a move to MLS, though a knee injury sustained last week could mean any transfer may have to be put on hold until 2018.

Asked by SPORT1 whether Ibrahimovic should make the move to the United States, Schweinsteiger said: "Definitely. Players like him are certainly very important in a league like MLS. He's a very professional sportsman and really gives you a lot of quality on the field.

"He may be [a bit eccentric] and sometimes I think he does it on purpose, but as a footballer, he's really one of the best I've ever played with. He's got a really, really good eye and that really impressed me."

Since joining the Fire, Schweinsteiger has made four MLS appearances for the club, scoring twice.

The former Bayern Munich player revealed it was a conversation he had with Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer, who played for the old New York Cosmos, that helped him make up his mind to move across the Atlantic.

"I had always followed MLS and I had spoken with Beckenbauer about football in America," he said. "He told me that this is where he had the best time [of his career] and that made me a bit curious.

"It worked out perfectly with Chicago Fire and the vision that the club have, since I was not playing so much in Manchester and I was desperate to be playing football again.

"Of course other clubs had shown an interest, but I had said from the start that I didn't want to move to another European club -- there were only Bayern Munich and Manchester United for me. That is why Chicago was great. I was really impressed with how the head coach and also [general manager] Nelson Rodriguez spoke with me, and of course I was interested in MLS.

"I wanted to take this step to see how things are in America, and given everything I've done in the past, it was definitely the right reason to come here."

Schweinsteiger said since his arrival he has been "made to feel welcome by everybody in the city and the club," while adding that he hopes to give plenty back on the field.

"I'm only 32, not 38 or something," he said. "I just want to play football and I feel good physically. It's not like I have any injury. I look forward to every training session and will just see how things go here, then we'll see what happens next.

"Sport will always be part of me. Right now, I'm just enjoying my time here."

ESPN FC's Italy correspondent Ben Gladwell contributed to this report.