He could only try: this is how a female TV colleague reacts to a flirtatious joke by German football legend Schweinsteiger | Time-out

After the blistering final, presenter Esther Sedlaczek thanked her viewers for following the World Cup football on ARD for a month. And she said goodbye to Bastian Schweinsteiger. The 2014 world champion – eight years ago Messi had to bow his head – was her regular co-commentator in Qatar.

“Basti, we have come to the end. This is it for us. I had a lot of fun with you. Thank you.” After which the former midfielder took over. He couldn’t resist – smiling broadly – one last joke. “Esther, it was really fun. Now we’re going on holiday together for two weeks, aren’t we?”

“Yes, of course,” said Sedlaczek, after which she pulled herself together. “No no. Of course not. We’re not going to do that. You have fun with your family.” Afterwards, she switched to the studio with a smile – but somewhat uncomfortable. Schweinsteiger has been together with ex-tennis star Ana Ivanovic since 2014. In 2016, they got married in Venice.

It was a funny exchange of words that the viewer liked. And fitting in with Schweinsteiger’s style of commentary, who is loved for his bold statements. Straightforward, few frills. This was also apparent when he was asked his opinion about the traditional Qatari garb that Messi should wear. “You take a big moment away from a player. I didn’t like it. You could also have done this in the players tunnel. I think Messi himself was not happy with it. This action was unsuccessful.”