The former goalkeeper loves ‘big engine’ cars but hates the idea of driving them on our streets because there are pot holes everywhere
Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel has slammed the state of Britain’s roads, saying they are ‘horrific’.
The 62-year-old keeper, who played nearly 300 games for the Red Devils between 1991 and 1999 and won 129 caps for Denmark, said he loved ‘big engine’ cars. The 6ft 3in goalie, however, said that despite loving driving them in his native Denmark, he hated getting behind the wheel in the UK.
Asked about the most expensive thing he had bought ‘for fun’, he said: “Cars. Expensive ones. Mercedes, SUVs, big-engine beasts. We have nice roads in Denmark, which makes a difference. I was driving in the UK recently and the state of the roads was horrific.”
There are estimated to be more than 1m potholes in the UK, with the RAC alone attending more than 25,000 pothole-relate breakdowns last year.
They cost British drivers around £1.7bn-a-year to fix. The glovesman also revealed how he was paid peanuts compared to football players today, saying he was earning 100 times less than former United keeper David de Gea, who left Old Trafford in 2023.
The Spanish keeper earned around £375,000-a-week before leaving the club. Schmeichel said he was on much less, around £3,750-a-week.
He told Me & My Money: “The kind of money players make now wasn’t around when I was playing, so I didn’t see the level of financial engagement, advice and so on that the players receive now.
“It was a different era. Even the bonuses we got for certain results are nothing compared with what they get now. My first contract was 100 times less than David de Gea’s when he left Old Trafford.”