Peter Schmeichel has revealed the moment he was almost sacked at Manchester United by Sir Alex Ferguson in a heated row.
Schmeichel enjoyed eight, trophy-laden seasons at Man United under the tutelage of Ferguson.
The goalkeeper was instrumental in his old side’s famous treble-winning campaign in 1999, as the the Red Devils won the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
But his career at Old Trafford was nearly cut short after an intense exchange with the legendary manager.
Schmeichel revealed how his ‘head went’ after Ferguson ‘picked’ on him after a game, resulting in a face-to-face meeting where he was told he was going to be sacked for his behaviour.
The Dane apologised to him and the squad as he survived the axe.
Speaking to former Man United teammates Gary Neville and Roy Keane on the latest episode of Stick to Football, brought to you by Sky Bet, he said: “Sir Alex Ferguson picked on me after a game and the second half was so bad, but I made a lot of saves and I felt like I kept the team in. He blamed me for my goal kicks. I felt really heart done by for him picking on me.
“My head went and that was probably my biggest regret in football and I’m not repeating that. On a Monday morning, he called me into his office and said that he was going to sack me and that we can’t have a player doing this. I accepted that and I apologised to him.
“He had a meeting in the changing room after and it was the worst I’ve ever seen him. He was so angry. He never done that in training before. He left and then I apologised to the team. My behaviour was so out of order. There are certain things you can do and certain things you can’t do.”
Peter Schmeichel and Sir Alex Ferguson during a Manchester United press conference. Image: Getty
Schmeichel added: “In the 90 minutes, I feel like you can say whatever because it’s all about winning. Before the game and after the game, you can’t say anything. It’s up to the manager or the coach to talk about what happened. You can’t go in and say you played bad, but I did that. I shouldn’t have done that. But he never brought it up again.”
Featured Image Credit: The Overlap/Getty
Topics: Gary Cahill, Roy Keane, Peter Schmeichel, Sir Alex Ferguson, Football