Henrik Larsson won the Champions League during a two-year spell with Barcelona, following his exit from Celtic
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Henrik Larsson says he chose Barcelona over several other teams after leaving Celtic despite being told by Frank Rijkaard that he wouldn’t be guaranteed a starting spot.
The Swedish great became a Celtic legend during seven hugely successful years in Glasgow from 1997 to 2004, winning four league titles and firing the club to the UEFA Cup final.
Larsson’s form in Scotland made him one of Europe’s most sought-after marksmen, but on leaving Celtic Park he joined a Barca side already packed with attacking talent.
Larsson went on to have a successful spell at Manchester United (Image credit: Getty Images)
The striker was made to compete with Samuel Eto’o, Ludovic Giuly, Ronaldinho and a young Lionel Messi for a starting spot.
But he backed himself and explained the decision to FourFourTwo.
“[Rijkaard] was honest: he told me that maybe I wouldn’t be an undisputed starter, but he wanted a player to complement the team,” Larsson said.
“I’m not going to lie; I would have liked to play more. You have to be mentally strong to accept that role – in fact, I didn’t accept it, because I always tried to be a starter.
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“But I always prepared as if I would be in the line-up. It wasn’t easy.”
Larsson suffered a serious injury in his first season but bounced back to feature more regularly in his second.
After clinching a second consecutive La Liga title, Larsson had a climax to his time in Catalonia to remember as came off the bench in the 2006 Champions League final to inspire a 2-1 win over Arsenal by setting up both goals.
Larsson then returned to Sweden with former club Helsingborg and had a loan spell at Manchester United in 2006/07, helping the club win the Premier League.
Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.
