Peter Schmeichel reveals Sir Alex Ferguson threatened to ‘SACK’ him after heated row at Man United, as the legendary goalkeeper opens up on his ‘biggest regret in football’

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson wanted to kick him out of the club after the pair got into a heated fight in the dressing room.

Schmeichel was an integral part of United’s winning machine during his seven years at the club between 1991 and 1999.

They won five league titles and finished high with a Champions League triumph to complete a historic treble in their final season.

But it wasn’t all plain sailing for the Danish giant at Old Trafford, as Schmeichel claimed Ferguson wanted to sack him following a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield in 1995, and he only saved his career at Old Trafford by apologizing to his manager. and teammates.

Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, presented by sky betSchmeichel explained: “Sir Alex Ferguson picked on me after a game and the second half was very bad, but I made a lot of saves and I felt like I kept the team in. He blamed me for my goal kicks.

Schmeichel and Ferguson won the Champions League together in 1999, but the former has claimed that moment almost never happened after a heated dressing room row.

‘I felt really devastated for him picking on me. I lost my mind and that was probably my biggest regret in football and I won’t repeat it.

“One Monday morning, he called me into his office and told me that he was going to fire me and that we couldn’t allow a player to do this. I accepted it and apologized.

“He had a meeting in the locker room afterwards and it was the worst I’ve ever seen him in my life. He was so angry. I’d never done that before in training. He left and then I apologized to the team. My behavior was so out of character. There are certain things you can do and certain things you can’t do.

“In the 90 minutes, I feel like you can say anything because the important thing is to win.” Before and after the game nothing can be said. It is up to the trainer or coach to talk about what happened. You can’t come in and say you played badly, but I did. I shouldn’t have done that. But he never brought it up again.

Former United players and staff have often spoken about Ferguson’s infamous “hairdryer treatment”, in which he would attack his team to get a reaction from them.

Addressing Ferguson’s man-management style at United, Schmeichel insisted that the Scot often picked on certain players and enjoyed confrontation because he felt it would bring out the best in the group.

Schmeichel admitted that exchanges between Ferguson and his senior stars would often be “brutal to watch”, but it clearly worked as United won 13 titles in the Premier League’s first 21 years.

Schmeichel believes Ferguson hounded certain players in the dressing room, including Roy Keane, but insists the legendary manager enjoyed facing his senior stars.

Ferguson’s approach paid off as United dominated English football for two decades.

“What I learned very quickly was that Sir Alex Ferguson needed a way out,” Schmeichel added.

“Very often it was in games where things were going well, or he needed to let off some steam. He had certain players he would do that to.

“I was one of them, Gary Pallister was one of them and Roy Keane was one of them. Ryan (Giggs) was one of them too. It would have been brutal to watch, but as a player you were allowed to respond. I wanted that confrontation because it was shaking things up. He wanted that.

‘What I learned from him was that 95% of everything he said was in signs and I was thinking about it and waiting for the opportunity to say that. I would choose those moments and once it happened, it would disappear.

Peter Schmeichel was speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, presented by sky bet