Peter Schmeichel reveals losing fortune to stock machine shark

Peter Schmeichel, by virtue of his silverware-laden stint at Manchester United, wrote his name in Old Trafford folklore when he held the Champions League trophy aloft in 1999.

That win over Bayern Munich in Barcelona is, no doubt, the magnum opus of the goalkeeper’s spell at United.

Moving from Brondby IF in 1991, nobody could foresee how influential the lofty Dane would become for Sir Alex Ferguson.

Before moving onto pastures new in 1999, joining Sporting CP after United’s treble-winning campaign, he won five Premier League titles and kept a whopping 180 clean sheets in 398 appearances.

A hero on the international stage, too, Schmeichel was an integral part of that Denmark side who won Euro 1992.

Having turned his hand to punditry after calling time on his career in the summer of 2003, Schmeichel has moved back to his homeland and is now focusing on his career on television.

In October, though, he did insist that he would relish in a return to Old Trafford – albeit in the form of a senior role.

Elsewhere, he has also taken the time to speak to This is Money about the ins and outs of the finances involved with being a footballer.

The former Aston Villa and Celtic shot-stopper delved into further detail about his financial health – from what his parents taught him about money to his best money decision.

In terms of his latter, the Dane said:

“I have a couple of rental apartments in Copenhagen and my house in the city, which I share with Laura and the two boys. Property prices have gone crazy in Denmark!

“One of the rental apartments has appreciated by 15 times what I paid for it,” the 63-year-old – born and raised in Gladsaxe – continued.

In terms of ill-informed financial guidance, though, Schmeichel – who ended his career at Manchester City – admitted that listening to a stock market shark when asked about the worst financial decision of his career.

“Listening to a stock market shark who’d bought a green-energy windfarm,” he said.

However, Peter Schmeichel remained coy and didn’t delve into further detail, thus masking how much money he lost. “I’m not saying how much I lost, but it was a lot.”

Elsewhere, Schmeichel claimed that he took a pay cut to become a full-time professional footballer – something that only came to fruition when he joined Brondby in 1987.

“I took a one-third pay cut when I became a professional footballer, pulling in two grand a month. It was an experiment by the club to take me on and, to be honest, I didn’t care about the money.

“All I wanted was to be a full-time footballer, playing the game – with an aim to get to Manchester United as quickly as possible.”