Man United hero explains Villa humiliation and lifts lid on 'darkest moment'
Peter Schmeichel has spoken out about Graham Taylor's decision not to keep him on at Aston Villa
Former goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel admits being pushed out of Aston Villa was the "darkest moment" of his football career.
Back in 2001, Villa signed Schmeichel on a free transfer after he completed a two-year spell at Sporting, which followed winning the treble with Manchester United.
Schmeichel penned a one-year contract with Villa - who finished eighth in the Premier League table and had qualified for the Intertoto Cup - with the option of a further 12 months.
But Schmeichel has now lifted the lid on The Rest is Football podcast as to why his time at Villa wasn't extended beyond just one season.
“My perfect move back to the Premier League was Aston Villa,” he began. “And it still sits badly with me that I have to leave Aston Villa because I absolutely loved being there.
“I loved working with John Gregory, I loved the fans, I loved the stadium, I had so much history in that Stadium.
“But Graham Taylor, who took over after John Gregory, he just didn’t want players like me as a simple fact.”
He added: “It was probably my darkest moment in my footballing life. That he called me into his office – with a long time of the season still to go – to tell me that they were not going to take the option they had on me for the next season.
“I said that was fine because I didn’t like being there with him, and he said ‘and you’re not playing anymore’ – and that, I mean, that was humiliating for me.
“He said that he didn’t want to be ‘the manager who saw me go downhill’ – that was his words. He said I had a fine career, I don’t want to be the man…
“I know the background for that and but that, still to this day, sits really badly with me.
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“If I had had the opportunity to stay at Aston Villa I probably would have played on for for a bit more than what I did.”