Kasper Peter Schmeichel (born 5 November 1986) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Scottish Premiership club Celtic and the Denmark national team.

Schmeichel began his career with Manchester City, but had loan spells with Darlington, Bury and Falkirk before he made his first-team debut.

The signing of Republic of Ireland international Shay Given in 2009 meant that Schmeichel fell even further down the pecking order at City, and he was allowed to link up with former manager Sven-Göran Eriksson at Notts County.

Schmeichel joined Leeds United in 2010, but again, his tenure at the club only lasted one season before he was transferred to Leicester City, where he again worked under Eriksson.

[7] Schmeichel grew up in Denmark during his early years but spent most of his childhood living in England due to his father's playing career.

[37] In December 2008, Schmeichel played his last game for Manchester City in a UEFA Cup match against Racing de Santander.

[38] On 14 August 2009, Schmeichel signed for League Two side Notts County in a deal that is believed to have broken the club's previous transfer record.

The reasoning behind this was financial: Schmeichel earned a reported £15,000 per week, having been signed during the brief ownership period of high-spending Munto Finance in the summer 2009.

Schmeichel agreed to forgo all his future wages, something which chairman Ray Trew described as "a huge concession by such a young man".

[48] After a string of impressive games for Leeds, Schmeichel was nominated for the August Championship Player of the Month award, but lost out to Queens Park Rangers winger Adel Taarabt.

[53] On 8 January 2011, Schmeichel helped Leeds earn a 1–1 draw against Arsenal in the FA Cup Third Round match at the Emirates Stadium.

[55] Although Leeds lost the replay 3–1, Schmeichel produced another impressive display (nearly scoring himself via a header) and he was subsequently named player of the FA Cup third round.

[61] On 27 June 2011, Schmeichel was officially confirmed as a Leicester player, signing a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee that reunited him for a second time with his former Manchester City manager and Notts County director of football, Sven-Göran Eriksson.

Schmeichel's performances earned him a place in the 2012–13 Championship PFA Team of the Year, alongside club captain Wes Morgan.

During the 2013–14 season, Schmeichel kept nine clean sheets during a 19-game unbeaten run spanning from December to April to help guarantee Leicester promotion from the Championship with six games to spare.

Schmeichel's high quality performances once again led to him being courted by some of world football's giants, with both Manchester United and Milan being linked with moves for the Danish international during the January transfer window.

In March, TV footage[69] appeared to support Schmeichel's claim that he had scored what would have been the first goal of his career, when Leicester equalised, in injury time, against Yeovil Town.

[71] Schmeichel remained the first choice goalkeeper for Leicester's return to the Premier League, including playing the full 90 minutes in the 5–3 victory against Manchester United on 21 September 2014.

[74] Clean sheets against Swansea City and Burnley as Leicester won four out of five games in April earned Schmeichel a nomination for the Premier League Player of the Month award.

On both occasions, the respective teams (Manchester United and Leicester City) clinched the titles by nearest rivals (Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur) not winning.

[83] Despite rumours of a move away after playing a crucial role in Leicester City's title in the 2015–16 season, on 6 August 2016, Schmeichel signed a new five-year contract until 2021.

[85] At the opening of the Premier League, Schmeichel continued his role in the goal ahead of new signing, Ron-Robert Zieler against newly promoted Hull City.

[86] After missing three games in September, including a midweek EFL Cup tie against Chelsea, with a minor groin injury, Schmeichel sustained a hand fracture in the first half of a Champions League match against Copenhagen on 2 November.

[87] Despite the injury, Schmeichel finished the game, seeing out a 0–0 draw by making a late save of Andreas Cornelius for his fourth Champions League clean sheet in four matches.

[91] In Leicester's first Champions League campaign, Schmeichel saved a penalty in each leg of the last 16 tie with Sevilla – from Joaquín Correa and Steven Nzonzi respectively – as the Foxes advanced 3–2 on aggregate.

[100] Schmeichel also captained Leicester City to the club's first European semi final after being knocked out by Jose Mourinho's Roma in the UEFA Europa Conference League.

[110] While at Manchester City, Schmeichel was called up for the Denmark national under-19 team in August 2004,[111] and made his international debut in a 0–0 draw with Northern Ireland on 2 September 2004.

[114] The day after his under-20 debut, Schmeichel was asked to train with the senior Denmark team and was called up as a replacement for injured Theis Rasmussen in the under-21 squad.

[115] Schmeichel was one of the leading players in the team, and was named Danish under-21 Talent of the Year in November 2007, following three clean sheets in the previous four under-21 games.

[118] On 29 May 2012, he was called up for UEFA Euro 2012 as a third goalkeeper after it became clear that Thomas Sørensen would miss the tournament due to an injury sustained against Brazil.