‘Players said his name in awe' — The story of Henrik Larsson's inspired three-month Manchester United loan

When Henrik Larsson returned to Helsingborg after two years at Barcelona, it seemed the perfect end to an outstanding career.

Larsson was returning to where it had all started and he was coming home after winning the Champions League. His decision to re-sign for Helsingborg again was romantic, but at 35 he wasn't prepared to settle, he just didn't know it yet.

Larsson wasn't aware that he wanted something more until he was four months into his second spell at the provincial Swedish club. Manchester United were about to change that with a single phone call that was received from Helsingborg's team coach.

Sir Alex Ferguson had expressed an interest in bringing Larsson — who was in the winter of his career — to Old Trafford. United's attacking options were depleted at the time and Ferguson turned to the veteran forward, who he wanted to sign on a three-month loan.

Larsson became a cult hero at Old Trafford, despite making just 13 appearances for the club, and this is his story.

Of course, Larsson had already played on British shores before signing for United in January 2007. Larsson had signed for Celtic for £650,000 in 1997 and it was Scotland where he made his name. He was an exceptional scorer of goals.

"Celtic were the only team willing to take a gamble on me, to be honest," Larsson recalled to Sky Sports in 2020. "I think they gambled right." If Celtic were gambling when signing Larsson, they ended up holding a royal flush at the transfer market table.

Larsson was an immediate success. Although he scored an own goal on his first appearance in Europe for Celtic, he was also scoring plenty on the right side of the pitch and finished his first season in Glasgow with an impressive 19 goals.

That was just a glimpse of what