Kasper Schmeichel did not choose to stop playing football. That, more than anything, appears to be shaping the way he is trying to fill the days after it.

The former Leicester City goalkeeper, 39, let his Celtic contract expire in June and brought a 20-year playing career to an end on medical advice, after surgeons told him he should not expect to return to top-level football following a shoulder injury that required surgery and would have sidelined him for a year. Speaking to talkSPORT this week, he said the emotional adjustment has been every bit as difficult as he expected.

“It is a strange transition. It wasn’t one I was ready for,” Schmeichel said. “Life throws these things at you, and I am adjusting.”

Asked bluntly whether he was bored, his answer was two words.

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“Beyond belief.”

Full-time Uber driver

Schmeichel, a father of three, was quick to point out that “bored” does not mean “idle.”

“I have got three kids. I am a full-time Uber driver, basically,” he told the station, describing a life now built around school runs, coaching courses and a bit of television work rather than matchdays.

His playing career, which ran from Manchester City’s academy through the improbable 5,000-1 Premier League title with Leicester in 2016 to two Scottish Premiership titles at Celtic, ended without a farewell match. He had already told Danish broadcaster TV2 in May that the decision “has been made for me.”

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Manager or higher

Where Schmeichel does see a future is in the dugout, and he is not hiding the ambition.

“Because I didn’t retire on my own terms, I still have my competitive edge,” he said. “I would like to manage, to be a football manager or higher. The fire is still burning quite strongly.”

For now that means grinding through the required qualifications while accepting the licenses themselves are not the enjoyable part.

“I don’t really enjoy getting the [coaching] badges, but you have got to get them,” he said. “When I am on the pitch, coaching or helping youngsters coming through, I do get enjoyment out of that.”

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Schmeichel, who won 120 caps for Denmark across two World Cups and two European Championships, gave no timeline for a first coaching role and named no target club.

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