'What made me this way? I felt superior - I knew what was going to happen next'

The big interview Peter Schmeichel The legendary former Manchester United goalkeeper on his mental strength, his parents' pain, and confidence in Ruben Amorim

- Donald McRae

There's no doubt that I was born with a special talent," Peter Schmeichel says as he avoids wasting time with false modesty. After a remarkable career in which he won the Champions League, five Premier League titles and three FA Cups with Manchester United, as well as the European Championship with Denmark in 1992, Schmeichel speaks with the conviction that characterised his performances in goal.

Yet during our revealing and surprisingly moving hour together, Schmeichel also explores the complex layers of his family history and tangled character as one of the world's great keepers and now, at 61, a much more reflective man.

"A lot of people are born with a special talent and they don't necessarily get to where they want to be," Schmeichel continues. "But whenever I needed to meet the right person, they came into my life and helped me reach the next level."

In an absorbing new film about his life, archive footage shows how Schmeichel always thought he was "superior" on a football field. What prompted this startling self-belief when he was so young and determined to be "a hero" in every game?

Schmeichel looks briefly uncertain. "I don't know. It's a really interesting question I've always wanted to answer. What made me this way? It's also true when I became a professional. I felt superior. I felt I knew what was going to happen next.

"But, even having spent so much time looking into it, I still don't have answers. It helps to understand where you came from and I can see so much of my mum in the way I am. I see so much of my father. But I also see a lot of my environment."