Kasper Schmeichel shares secret behind Celtic transfer as he opens up on 'bit of banter' with Rangers fans
Kasper Schmeichel has revealed a hidden detail in how he signed for Celtic.
The Hoops No. 1 was jetting out for a family holiday after the Euros when a texting exchange with Brendan Rodgers turned into the Parkhead boss wanting ten minutes of his former Leicester City goalkeepers time for a blether. Within that chat everything was agreed on becoming Joe Hart's successor but with the way football is these days with the multiple international tournaments on top of everything else, the veteran was ready for some down time after Denmark's elimination from Euro 2024 in Germany.
But rather than come to Glasgow, Rodgers told the 38-year-old it was important he got away with the family for some down time and he ended up doing his Celtic medical in Italy before signing his contract in an Italian restaurant. Speaking on the Fozcast - former Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster's podcast - he said: "We went out of the Euros against Germany and I kind of took a couple of days to just decompress and process that whole experience.
"I had a text exchange with Brendan which we have done a lot of times since I have left Leicester. You know, it was nothing really specific or anything like that. I was going on holiday with my family and a couple of hours before we left for the airport, Brendan text me and asked 'do you have 10 minutes for a chat' he asked me my plans and what was going on and we basically agreed everything within 10 minutes."
He added: "The Euros finished and I think I ended up having 12 days holiday. That is more than the last three or four years combined. Brendan kind of said it is important you go on holiday. We will sort this remotely. We figured out a doctor and everything in Italy to do the scans and medical. I signed sitting in an Italian restaurant and signed the contract. It was a good day."
The gold fishbowl is something that can swallow up players who just arrive in Scotland. It is a place like no other when it comes to football. But Kasper insists his interactions with Rangers fans have been respectful and with banter, which he reckons is a nice touch. Generally, he has been pleasantly surprised at life in Glasgow.
He said: "It's a great place. I have been so positively surprised. It is a really great place to live. I have thoroughly enjoyed it. The people are nice and everyone has welcomed me. Even when I have met Rangers fans they've not been necessarily nice but always been respectful and had a bit of banter and I think that is a great way of doing it. I am really enjoying it.
"Like I said people are quite respectful. I rarely go out without a cap or a hood up or something but generally it has been fine. Touch wood, I haven't experienced anything crazy yet. But it is not too bad."
