Schmeichel reveals Celtic connection and Rodgers relationship

Kasper Schmeichel admitted Brendan Rodgers, who managed him at Leicester City, was a big draw when it came to signing for Celtic.

Even though the Danish goalkeeper won the Premier League title at the Foxes under Claudio Ranieri, he remembers the Rodgers era as his ‘happiest’ at the club.

“I look back at my career and the times I was probably at my best and happiest as a footballer was under Brendan at Leicester,” Schmeichel said.

“It was certainly the time I enjoyed football the most. I have a lot of positive memories so the chance to work with him again is obviously a big thing.

“Through the years, there has been a lot of different people coming along at different times when you have needed them.

“There has been coaches like John Hughes who gave me the chance in the top league, Sven-Goran Eriksson gave me my Premier League debut, Nigel Pearson gave me the confidence to think I could be a Premier League goalkeeper for a long time and obviously Brendan coming in helped to elevate me and made me believe.

“We got to an FA Cup final and won it which had never been done in Leicester’s history.

“You meet these people along the way and Brendan is a really important person in my life.”

The 37-year-old, who captained his country at the recent European Championships, also revealed an affinity for Celtic.

“There was always something with Celtic for some reason. Very recently we had Thomas Gravesen and Morten Wieghorst [former Denmark internationals] playing here.

“It is just a club that always appealed to me in some kind of way and particularly these last few years, with Joe coming here, I followed it a lot closer than I ever did and having played here as a youngster, you get a real impression.”