Following his impressive displays for Denmark, Manchester United signed Schmeichel in August 1991 for around £500,000
(Video from Sky Sports Football on YouTube)
Success at Old Trafford
Schmeichel spent most of his career at Manchester United. He won five FA Premier League titles, three FA Cups, one League Cup, and the UEFA Champions League.
His last game for United was the 1999 Champions League final.
Sir Alex Ferguson reportedly described him as the bargain of the century.
Scoring for Manchester United
In a UEFA Cup match in 1995, Schmeichel managed to score for Manchester United. United were ultimately knocked out but the goal preserved their unbeaten home record in European competition.
The following season, he thought he had scored a dramatic late equaliser in an FA Cup match against Wimbledon. Sadly for him and United, the goal was ruled out for offside.
United's struggle to replace him
After Schmeichel left Man United, the club struggled to replace him. Numerous goalkeepers including Mark Bosnich, Fabien Barthez, Tim Howard and several others all came and struggled to establish themselves as United's first choice goalkeeper.
In fact, it wasn't until 2005 when the club signed Edwin Van Der Sar did United fans feel that he was adequately replaced.
Leaving United and eventual arrival at Manchester City
After spells with Sporting Lisbon and Aston Villa, Schmeichel signed for Manchester City before the start of the 2002/2003 season. This was seen as something of a controversial move given his success at Old Trafford.
He only spent a season at Maine Road but did contribute to a historic derby win over United. This was the last Manchester derby ever played at Maine Road.
The goalkeeper retired in 2003 with the honour of never losing a Manchester derby.
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