Kasper Schmeichel reveals ‘I never wanted to leave Leicester’ after the Danish keeper was offered a three-year deal at Nice… but the Foxes icon admits ‘I could never turn them down’ if his former club came calling

• Kasper Schmeichel won a Premier League and FA Cup while with Leicester City 
• The Danish goalkeeper left Nice after one season and now plays for Anderlecht 
• It’s extraordinary how people behave in football stadiums… champion Ollie Watkins for what he did to dish it out to the fans – Listen to It’s All Kicking Off 

Kasper Schmeichel has admitted that he never wanted to leave Leicester in 2022, but kept the door open to what would be an emotional return to the KP Stadium. 

The Danish goalkeeper, now 37, turns out for Anderlecht after a single season at Ligue 1 outfit Nice, and enjoyed a fairytale career in between the sticks in his time at Leicester. 

Schmeichel was part of the Foxes outfit that defied the odds to win the Premier League in 2015-16, as well as lifting the FA Cup in 2020-21, before leaving the club at the end of the following year. 

However, in an emotional interview, the Danish international has revealed that the decision to depart the team where he had spent 11 years was ultimately one that was out of his hands.  

‘I never wanted to leave Leicester,’ the 37-year-old goalkeeper admitted. ‘It was a weird situation, in the sense that I was coming into the last year of my contract, I was turning 35 we had the World Cup and this offer from Nice came in. 

Kasper Schmeichel has revealed that it was never his choice to leave Leicester in 2022

The Danish goalkeeper was part of the side that defied the odds to win the Premier League in 2015-16

kasper schmeichel and lecstier #transfermarkt #transfer #fyp

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‘It was more of a test; “I’m 35 they’re offering me a three-year contract are you interested in keeping me?”, and the response I got unfortunately told me everything I needed to know. 

‘To then see what happened the season after was awful. I spent every Saturday watching the games, and it wasn’t fun to watch.

‘They had the opportunity to bring me back that season but if Leicester came calling I don’t think I could ever turn them down.’

Without their former goalkeeper Leicester failed to remain in the Premier League and were last season relegated into the Championship. 

The Foxes never really replaced their No 1, with Welsh international Danny Ward stepping up from No 2 and Daniel Iversen also featuring between the sticks in an ultimately ill-fated campaign. 

Schmeichel would go on to win the FA Cup too, captaining the side to a 1-0 victory over Chelsea

After one season at Nice Schmeichel departed for Belgium and now plays for Anderlecht

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This year, though, they are flying high in the English second tier, in a race that looks to go down to the wire alongside Ipswich. 

The Foxes brought in a new boss over the summer, too, as they looked to prepare for an immediate return to the Premier League. 

Treble-winning Manchester City coach Enzo Maresca was handed the reins at the KP Stadium, and looks to be making light work of his first managerial gig in England.  

Schmeichel played 36 times in Ligue 1 for Nice last term but was let go at the end of the first season of his three-year deal, and is now at Anderlecht in Belgium’s Jupiler Pro League.  

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