Manchester United's Bastian Schweinsteiger launches legal action over 'Nazi lookalike' doll

Manchester United's Bastian Schweinsteiger is taking legal action against a Chinese company that manufactured a doll bearing the midfielder's resemblance and dressed in Nazi military uniforms.

The figure, which is also named 'Bastian', can be seen wearing various German World War Two military uniforms, including the swastika and eagle symbols of Nazi Germany, and is on sale through the Hong Kong-based DID company.

The resemblance to Germany captain Schweinsteiger is striking, although a spokesman for the company has insisted that it is purely coincidental.

"We think that all Germans look like that. Bastian is also a very common name in Germany," spokesman Patrick Chan told Bild.

Bastian Schweinsteiger may sue over 'Nazi lookalike' doll

However, a spokesman for Schweinsteiger, who won the World Cup with Germany in 2014, said the 31-year-old was taking legal action despite the company's denial.

Media lawyer Ulrich Amelung told Bild that the doll was "a clear violation of Schweinsteiger's personality rights" and "constituted a gross defamation and insult". 

The DID company, which is also selling figures of former Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin and former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, was still advertising the figure on the front page on its website on Thursday morning.

Schweinsteiger is among the most successful German footballers of his generation, having won the Champions League with Bayern Munich in 2013 as well as numerous domestic league and German Cup titles before joining Manchester United in the summer.