Renowned for his composure, passing, vision, technical skills, ball control, and dribbling ability, Laudrup is widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time.

He played alongside his brother Brian in the Denmark team that reached the quarter-finals of the 1998 World Cup, and retired as an active player after the tournament.

He brought the club comparative success in the Copa del Rey and UEFA Cup, and the team's attacking style received plaudits.

He played part of the 1983 season for Brøndby, and scored nine goals, before he was sold to defending Serie A champions Juventus from Italy in June 1983.

When Platini retired in 1987, Laudrup was expected to lead the team in his place, playing alongside newly bought Welsh forward Ian Rush.

In 1989, he joined Spanish club Barcelona on the premise that Dutch coach Johan Cruyff, his childhood role model, had been assembling a team that was striving for success.

Immediately, Laudrup enjoyed major success under Cruyff's leadership, citing the Dutchman's philosophy and perception of the game as one of the main assets that helped foster his talent.

[23] Reflecting on his time at Barcelona, Laudrup commented: "I think we played some very good football, and I think most of all we demonstrated that even without getting the ten best players in the world, you can have the best team.

[23] Following the match, Laudrup's former Barcelona manager Cruyff commented: "When Michael plays like a dream, a magic illusion, determined to show his new team his extreme abilities, no one in the world comes anywhere near his level.

Laudrup participated in the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, a performance which is best remembered for his exceptional solo dribble and goal in the 6–1 defeat of Uruguay.

Laudrup returned to Nielsen's Danish squad in August 1993, but saw Spain and the Republic of Ireland qualify for the 1994 World Cup ahead of Denmark.

[51] This led to the expression "Made in Laudrup" being coined in the Spanish football media, which was widely used in Spain to describe his trademark assists, in particular his lobbed passes, as well as his unique play.

[57] According to a 2018 article by Josh Butler of The Athletic and These Football Times, several of Laudrup's teammates said of his creative style of play: "Just run, he will always find a way of passing you the ball.

"[79] In 1998, he stated: "Had Michael been born in a poor ghetto in Brazil or Argentina with the ball being his only way out of poverty he would today be recognised as the biggest genius of the game ever.

As his assistant coach, he paired up with former Danish championship winning manager John Jensen, who had played alongside him in the Denmark national team.

After finishing runners-up in the 2005–06 Danish Superliga, Laudrup announced that he, along with assistant Faxe Jensen, could not come to an agreement for a one-year contract extension that was offered by the club.

[84] Laudrup was associated with several new jobs, including becoming manager of former club Real Madrid and that he would replace Lars Lagerbäck as head coach of the Sweden national team.

During his tenure as successor to Bernd Schuster, he brought in a new brand of exciting and free-flowing attacking football to the club, bringing back memories of Laudrup as a player.

[85] After Laudrup announced his departure from Getafe, he was linked with jobs at Barcelona,[86] Valencia, Benfica, Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers, Panathinaikos, CSKA Moscow and West Ham United.

[87] On 12 September 2008, it was officially announced that Laudrup had signed a one-and-a-half-year contract to manage Spartak Moscow, replacing Stanislav Cherchesov following his dismissal after a string of poor results.

He was subsequently sacked on 15 April 2009, just seven months on the job,[89] in the wake of Spartak's quarter-final 3–0 loss to Dynamo Moscow in the Russian Cup.

The official statement from Spartak read: "From this point onwards, head coach Michael Laudrup has been relieved of his responsibilities because of unsatisfactory results.

In his first season, he kept the struggling Mallorca side from relegation, which was suffering from losing many first team players and who was ejected from the UEFA Europa League due to its poor financial situation.

Laudrup cited great frustration with Lorenzo Serra Ferrer, the club's director of football, leading to a bad work climate as the main reason for his resignation.

[92] He made several new signings after arriving at the Liberty Stadium, including Michu, Chico Flores, Pablo Hernández, Jonathan de Guzmán and Ki Sung-yueng.

[100] On 24 February 2013, Laudrup won his first trophy with Swansea after his side beat Bradford City 5–0 to win the Football League Cup at Wembley.

[112] As assistant manager to Morten Olsen, the Denmark national team employed a 4–2–3–1 system with pacey wingers playing the pivotal role in attack.

He continued to employ a similar tactical style when he joined Getafe, ushering a new brand of exciting and free-flowing attacking football to help the club to the Copa del Rey final.

He also signed a number of new players, primarily from La Liga, trying to bring the attacking style from Spain to Wales, which saw more goals scored.

"[116] Laudrup earned plaudits for maintaining their flowing, attacking brand of football and attractive, passing style of play throughout the season, which saw his side win the League Cup, after beating Bradford City a record 5–0 in the final.