How Alex Ferguson almost ended my Manchester United career

In a revelation from the golden era of Manchester United dominance in the 90s, it has emerged that a heated changing room bust-up between legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson and goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel almost resulted in the Dane’s expulsion from the squad.

Manchester United, under Ferguson’s leadership, clinched six out of eight Premier League titles during that period, with Peter Schmeichel playing a pivotal role in the team’s success.

The incident in question unfolded at Anfield, where despite taking a three-goal lead, Manchester United found themselves pegged back by Liverpool, leading to a drawn match. Sir Alex Ferguson, visibly furious with the outcome, directed his frustration towards Schmeichel, singling him out for criticism.

Recalling the intense moment on William Hill’s Up Front with Simon Jordan podcast, Schmeichel revealed,

“Feelings get mixed in without having time to cool off before you get into the dressing room, and then it was me who got picked on.”

Expressing his frustration, Schmeichel stated,

“I understood that, I’d been there long enough by that point to understand that. But on that day, my brain was completely fried, and I just couldn’t take it, why me? I was thinking, ‘Look around, you could do that to literally anyone else in here, but not me, I kept us in it.”

Sir Alex Ferguson, following the clash, summoned Schmeichel to his office the following Monday, informing him that he was out of order and contemplating letting him go. However, Schmeichel’s apology to his teammates in a later meeting inadvertently saved his Manchester United career.

During the apology, Schmeichel expressed remorse, stating,

“I really am sorry about what I did and said, I embarrassed you and I embarrassed the manager, I apologized to the manager, and I want to apologize to you guys, I was really out of order.”

Unknown to Schmeichel, Sir Alex Ferguson was listening to the apology from another room and decided against parting ways with the goalkeeper.

Schmeichel recounted,

“He told my agent that he was listening by the door thinking ‘I didn’t expect that, okay forget about it.'”