Former Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel has been opening up on his decision to retire. The veteran stopper spent the last two years of his career with the Hoops and certainly served his purpose, helping the club to two league titles and a Scottish Cup along the way.
The now 39-year-old was readily available for most of his time at the club, but injuries caught up with him towards the end of last season, leading to a decision to retire.
Injury played key role in Schmeichel retirement decision
Speaking to the Daily Record, Schmeichel revealed injury was central to his decision to walk away from the game at age 39. He said: "The surgeon said my shoulder wasn't going to be fixed to play at the level I wanted to play at. The decision was taken for me. It's definitely not how I wanted it, my career's finished, but I've had some time to reflect.
"I've been lucky enough to experience a lot of things, play over 900 games, be part of the teams I've been part of, win the trophies I have.
"It was a specific injury that happened in the Stuttgart game. It was actually fine and it was right at the end of that I felt I needed to get it checked out. It was pretty damaged.
"The conversation with the doctors became less about actually playing again, but about quality of life. It was really strange in the sense that I was still under contract at Celtic, in and around the team.
"I played 39 matches during the season. We were going for a Double, which we ended up getting. I was still very much trying to be part of that, even though I couldn't be.
"Martin O'Neill was great. He knows I tried everything to see if I could get back. Sometimes the body makes the decisions that the heart can't read."
Schmeichel leaves behind a successful career
Schmeichel had a long and successful career that began at Manchester City, although he had to work his way back up after his time with City, joining Notts County, where he won the League Two title. He went on to join Leeds United, and then Leicester City.
Schmeichel had a rather acrobatic style early on, and was a particularly agile keeper, and he found his best form at Leicester, where he grew into a leadership role and while he remained an agile shot-stopper, he found real consistency and became a more measured keeper.
He made more than 400 league appearances for the Foxes, won the Premier League, FA Cup, Community Shield and a Championship title. The 120-cap Denmark international will be remembered as a Foxes legend, and after spells with Anderlecht and Nice, he will be remembered for his contribution to a successful couple of years for Celtic.
Add us as a preferred source on Google