Peter Schmeichel has criticised Manchester United for selling Rasmus Hojlund, insisting the striker's teammates at Old Trafford refused to pass the ball to him. The former goalkeeper made the comments during his latest appearance on The Overlap.
Hojlund joined United in the summer of 2023 from Atalanta in a deal worth £72 million, after the club failed to sign Harry Kane. He scored 16 goals in his debut season and 10 the following campaign, though only two of those came in the Premier League. United then sent him on loan to Napoli in 2025, with the move made permanent in June after a successful spell in Italy.
Schmeichel criticises Hojlund replacement
United replaced Hojlund with Benjamin Sesko, signing the Slovenian from RB Leipzig for a fee similar to the one paid for Hojlund. Sesko impressed under Michael Carrick, averaging a goal every 85 minutes in the second half of last season, but has been sidelined by a shin injury for the last six months. United have not disclosed details of his latest issue, with reports suggesting he could be out until February.
Schmeichel condemned the decision to let Hojlund leave at the time and has again hit out at his former club, accusing United of replacing a 'fantastic' player with an injury-prone option. He also claimed Hojlund found himself in a difficult situation in Manchester, where many of his teammates 'openly would not even pass to him'.
Schmeichel: Hojlund a goal machine
'Rasmus Hojlund was a goal machine. And he will be a goal machine everywhere,' Schmeichel said. 'He'll have periods where he doesn't score but he will score a lot of goals. He's young and from childhood, completely a Manchester United fan. He would do anything for this football club and he played in the period where he had no service.'
'He had players there who very openly would not even pass it to him. A young kid, who needed to be coached in order to maximise his great talent which I think he has, I see him playing for Denmark.'
'This is a fantastic player. What do we do? Well, we got the head of recruitment in from Red Bull [United's director of recruitment, formerly technical director at RB Leipzig] and what does he do? He brings in his player.'
Hojlund's form at Napoli
'So you've got Benjamin Sesko, who is a great player but is always injured. He doesn't play. We have already gone two years down the road with a striker who has so much potential. Why did we feel the need to make a change there?'
Hojlund scored 16 goals in his first season back in Italy with Napoli. This term, he has scored two in 11 appearances, the same tally as Sesko despite seeing 600 more minutes of action than the Slovenian.
