Aston Villa cuts ties with Schmeichel

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) -- Danish goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel will leave Aston Villa at the end of the season after the club decided not to extend his contract, manager Graham Taylor said Friday.

The 38-year-old former Manchester United star -- one of the world's best known 'keepers -- was dropped from the first-team Friday by Villa manager Graham Taylor and is unlikely to play for the club again.

"Peter Schmeichel joined the club with a guarantee that he would be the No. 1 goalkeeper - a verbal agreement from the previous manager [John Gregory]," Taylor said on Villa's web site. "That's totally acceptable, but I cannot give Peter that guarantee.

"Therefore, it has been decided, jointly by both parties , that there would be little point in taking up the option [on his contract]."

Taylor said Peter Enckelman will start against Leeds on Saturday, with Boaz Myhill on the bench.

"I cannot guarantee Peter Schmeichel being our No. 1 goalkeeper and the last thing I would want and the last thing he would want is for him to be sitting on the substitutes' bench as our No. 2 goalkeeper," Taylor said.

"At this stage of his career, with what the man has done throughout his career in football, you cannot do that to him.

"But I cannot give him the guarantee of him being the No. 1 goalkeeper next season. So jointly we have come to the decision that the options will not be taken up and therefore Peter will be leaving the club at the end of the season."

Schmeichel's agent, Paul Stretford, said the decision was mutual.

"We were quite open," he said. "We had an option clause in the contract. He's had a discussion with Graham. It was very amicable. Bacically, he made it clear from his point of view he would not be looking to extend the option next year."

Stretford said he expects Schmeichel will be pursued by other Premier League clubs.

"He still feels as fit as the day he left Manchester United and is still performing at the highest level," he said. "We'll be testing our options in the next few weeks. I would certainly suspect that both in terms of ability and presence, his name will be of interest to clubs at the highest level."

Stretford said Schmeichel, who played in Portugal after leaving Man United and before joining Villa, would prefer to stay in English soccer.

"I think Peter is definitely an Anglophile in terms of his football career," he said. "Staying in England would be the first option."

Schmeichel plans to pursue a career in soccer management "further down the line," Stretford said.

 

Related information
Stories
Feyenoord holds Inter to make UEFA Cup final America beats Tulua 3-2 in Copa Libertadores
Multimedia
Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.