Sir Alex Ferguson's 'bargain of the century' deal for Man United legend nearly collapsed due to £1m asking price

Sir Alex Ferguson rarely made a mistake in the transfer window during his time as Manchester United boss.

The legendary manager is responsible for building some of the best teams to ever grace football, and his eye for spotting talent was second to none.

But one deal made by Sir Alex Ferguson stood out. He described the £500,000 deal for goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel in 1991 as the “bargain of the century”.

It is easy to see why. The towering Dane made a total of 398 appearances for the Red Devils during his eight-year career at Old Trafford.

Schmeichel was a key player in the dominant United side in the 1990s who won five Premier League titles, three FA Cups and the Champions League. He left United after the historic treble success in 1999.

16 Dec 1998: Peter Schmeichel in goal for Manchester United against Chelsea in the FA Carling Premiership match at Old Trafford in Manchester, Eng…

Peter Schmeichel move to Man United originally collapsed

Schmeichel, who has now been retired for 21 years, has opened up on his dream move to Manchester United.

Speaking on The Overlap, he revealed he was initially “devastated” when talks collapsed because of Brondby’s £1.2m asking price.

Speaking at [43:10], Schmeichel said: “The first person I spoke to was Martin Edwards, when I’m actually joining the club and they approached me.

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“[The season before,] Brondby asked for far too much money, and so it couldn’t happen. They asked for £1.2 million, and it fell through – I was devastated.

“Then I get a phone call from someone who was helping that agent, to come to his house after training – and in his house is Alex Ferguson. He said ‘I’m disappointed, I know you are, but I’ve seen what I want – I’m coming back in the summer.’ We shook hands and he left.

“Before United won the Uefa Cup Winners’ Cup, I went to see Martin Edwards and we did the deal then – it was literally just a handshake as they had just gone on the stock market, so weren’t allowed to sign any contracts.

“I had to trust this guy, and having had the experience the year before when it didn’t happen, it was a bit of a nervy time. When I came over and I started pre-season, and we went to Norway for pre-season training, I still didn’t have a contract.

“We came back from Norway, and that same day we were heading up to Scotland to play Aberdeen, and that was the only day in the window I was allowed to sign a contract. I went from the airport to the office, signed my contract, and then flew up to Scotland.”

Peter Schmeichel on Manchester United today

Schmeichel has continued to follow United ever since leaving the club, and he is a big admirer of current goalkeeper Andre Onana. Schmeichel said Onana is a “world-class” star in the making after he was left impressed by his debut season at Old Trafford.

It seems Schmeichel’s prediction was right as Onana has been United’s MVP this season after overperforming in the opening few games.

READ MORE: Peter Schmeichel calls out two Erik ten Hag signings that changed ‘whole structure’ of Man Utd, he doesn’t hold back

He praised Onana for “stepping up” and “winning points” this season. Truthfully, things could be even worse for United without the Cameroon international between the sticks.

Onana still has a long way to go to replicate Schmeichel’s legendary status at Old Trafford, but it is promising that the Dane can see a lot of promise in United’s No.1.

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