Real name	Henrik Larsson
Height	5.09
Weight	12.02
Date of birth	20-09-1971
Place of birth	Helsingborg, Sweden
Position	Forward
Nationality	Sweden
International Caps	93
International Goals	36

Date	Team	Appearances	Goals
?-1992	Högaborgs
1992-1993	Helsingborgs IF	56	50
1993-1997	Feynoord	101	26
1997-2004	Celtic	315	242
2004-2006	FC Barcelona	33	12
2006-	Helsinborgs IF
National Team
1993-2006	Sweden	88	34

Club	From	To	Fee	League		FA Cup		League cup		Other
Man Utd	01-01-2007	01-04-2007	Loan	No appearance data available
Helsingborgs	01-07-2006		Free	15 (0)	8	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Barcelona	30-06-2004	01-07-06	Free	20 (20)	13	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0	6 (8)	2
Celtic	25-07-1997	30-06-04	£ 650,000	218 (3)	173	26 (0)	23	13 (0)	11	55 (0)	35
Feyenoord	01-08-1993	25-07-97		101 (0)	26	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Totals			£ 650,000	354 (23)	220	26 (0)	23	13 (0)	11	61 (8)	37
			goals / game	0.58		0.88		0.84		0.53
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals

Henrik Larsson MBE (born September 20, 1971 in Helsingborg, Skåne) is a Swedish international football player.

Having completed seven very successful years with Celtic in Glasgow, Scotland, after the end of the 2003/04 season he signed a one year contract with an option for a second year for Spanish giants Barcelona. Despite having missed the majority of season 2004/05 through injury, the option to play in season 2005/06 was extended and accepted.
In the summer of 2006 he will return to his native Helsingborg to play for Helsingborgs IF.
In his last match for Barcelona, he set up both of Barca's goals as they won the Champions League.


Biography

Larsson started his professional career playing for Högaborg at the age of 17. He subsequently played for Helsingborgs IF and Feyenoord. Although he was finalising the details of the contract with Grasshopper-Club Zürich in 1993 he moved to Feyenoord for £295,000. Following a complicated contract dispute with Feyenoord, he was signed by Celtic manager Wim Jansen in July 1997 for a fee of £650,000. His debut against Hibernian at Easter Road was less than spectacular: he inadvertently passed the ball to Hibs player, Chic Charnley, resulting in a 2 - 1 loss for Celtic. He didn't fare much better in his first European game, scoring an own goal, although Celtic did run out 6 - 2 winners.

Larsson scored 242 goals for Celtic, in 315 matches, making him Celtic's third all-time record goal scorer (in all competitions). This is more remarkable in the fact that he missed almost a year having suffered a horrific injury, breaking his leg in two places, whilst playing against Olympique Lyonnais in a UEFA cup match in France.

In 2001 he won the "Golden Boot" award for being Europe's top goal scorer, with 35 league goals. His total in all competitions that season was 53.

In Seville, in 2003, he scored two superb goals in the UEFA Cup Final, although opponents Porto went on to win 3-2.

His goalscoring feats on the continent for Celtic mean he holds the record for number of goals scored for a club from British Isles in European matches.

In 2004, after having moved to Barcelona, he was jeered when he came on as a substitute against Celtic at Celtic Park, he scored against Celtic in the Champions League match. After the game he said "It was very difficult for me to celebrate my goal because I had so many great times here..."

In 2004, The Swedish Football Association bestowed upon him the accolade "greatest Swedish football player of the last 50 years."

Larsson's international record is impressive with 34 goals in 88 games, many of which he played in midfield or as a winger. He has always made his mark on big occasions and has scored at two World Cups (1994 at which Sweden came 3rd, and 2002), and two European Championships (2000 and 2004).

In 2005 Larsson returned briefly to Glasgow to receive an honorary degree from the University of Strathclyde, in recognition of his contribution to football and for his charity work.

In January of 2006, Henrik announced his decision to leave his current club F.C. Barcelona and return to Sweden at the end of his current contract in July 2006, revealing that he politely refused a verbal promise by club president Joan Laporta to extend his contract to the end of the next season. Larsson thinks that at 34 and having a very successful career behind him, it is time to retire from Barça and enjoy his last years in his homeland.

In April 2006 it was reported that team mate Ronaldinho said of Larsson- "With Henrik leaving us at the end of the season this club is losing a great scorer, no question. But I am also losing a great friend. Henrik was my idol and now that I am playing next to him it is fantastic. He is a real friend and that is a pleasure. I just want to enjoy the remaining time he has with us rather than dwell on what we will be missing when he's gone. I haven't tried to convince Henrik to stay at Barcelona. I respect him so much that I can't try to influence his decision. It's something he has thought about for a long time. I'm not happy he's leaving but I'm not going to pressure him at all. At Henrik's age many players announce their retirement from international football but no one I know his age is at the great physical level Henrik is at right now. He could play at the highest level for a long time."

Barring any serious injury, Larsson is expected to feature at the 2006 World Cup in Germany which is probably to be his last World Cup.

In May 2006 he was given the honor of Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by the British Consulate in Barcelona, in name of Queen Elizabeth II for his contributions to British football during the years he spent playing at Glasgow. In the same month, he won his first UEFA Champions League medal after coming on as a substitute and assisting both of Barcelona's goals in a 2-1 win over Arsenal FC.

Thierry Henry paid tribute to Larsson's contribution to Barcelona's win after the game, saying "People always talk about Ronaldinho, and everything but I didn't see him today - I saw Henrik Larsson. Two times he came on - he changed the game, that is what killed the game - sometimes you talk about Ronaldinho and Eto'o and people like that, you need to talk about the proper footballer who made the difference and that was Henrik Larsson tonight...". Indeed his ability to give Barcelona the cutting edge required to overcome Arsenal was noted by the international press.

In Dec 2006, Henrik Larsson decided to sign a 2.5 month loan contract with Man Utd starting from Jan 2006. Comes ironically only 1 week after Celtic beat Man Utd in the Champs Lge group stage to go through to the knock-out phase for the first time. Opinion from the Celtic support was divided, but all hoped him the best, and he prospered at the club for his short stint and is regarded as the difference between having won the league and otherwise with Wayne Rooney in particular benefitting from Larsson beside him. He was begged by the Man U management and supporters to stay till the end of the season for Man U, but as a man of his word he went back to Helsinborg.

Larsson's goal scoring record

Sorted by Team
===========
Aberdeen	25
Airdrie	1
Anderlecht	1
Ayr Utd	1
Berwick Rangers	1
Blackburn	2
Boavista	2
Bordeaux	1
Celta Vigo	1
Cwmbran Town	2
Dundee	16
Dundee Utd	19
Dunfermline	30
FC Basel	1
eff Kaunus	1
eff Suduva	3
eff Teplice	2
Hearts	23
Hibernian	11
HJK Helsinki	2
Jeunesse Esch	1
Juventus	2
Kilmarnock	18
Liverpool	1
Livingston	14
Morton	1
Motherwell	14
MTK Hungaria	1
Partick	3
Porto	3
Rangers	15
St Johnstone	11
St Mirren	4
St Patrick's Ath	1
Tel Aviv	3
Valencia	1
Villarreal	1
Vitoria Guimaraes	2
Zurich	1
Champions League 1998-1999
St. Patrick’s Athletic (Away)	1
UEFA-Cup 1998-1999
Vitória Guimarães (Home)	1
Vitória Guimarães (Away)	1
FC Zürich (Away)	1
UEFA-Cup 1999-2000
Cwmbran Town (Home)	2
Hapoel Tel-Aviv (Home)	2
Hapoel Tel-Aviv (Away)	1
And then came Lyon...
UEFA-Cup 2000-2001
Jeunesse d’Esch (Away)	1
HJK Helsinki (Home)	2
Girondins de Bordeau (Away)	1
Champions League + UEFA Cup 2001-2002
Juventus (Away)	1
FC Porto (Home)	1
Juventus (Home)	1
Valencia CF (Home)	1
Champions League + UEFA Cup 2002-2003
FC Basel (Home)	1
Suduva eff Marijampole (Home)	3
Blackburn Rovers (Home)	1
Blackburn Rovers (Away)	1
RC Celta de Vigo (Home)	1
Liverpool (Home)	1
Boavista (Home)	1
Boavista (Away)	1
FC Porto (Neutral)	2
Champions League + UEFA Cup 2003-2004
FBK Kaunas (Away)	1
MTK Budapest (Away)	1
RSC Anderlecht (Home)	1
eff Teplice (Home)	2
Villarreal (Home)	1
Goals v Rangers
2 Home 5-1 game
2 Home 6-2 game
1 Away 1-5 game
1 Away 3-0 game
2 Home 3-3 game
1 Home 1-0 Cup Game
1 Hampden 3-1 Game
1 away 2-1 Game

Interviews

• 2 On 1 interview broadcast 21/3/07

Honours

Team
Third-Placed at the 1994 World Cup
Dutch Cup: 1993-94 and 1994-95
Scottish League (4): 1997-98, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2003-04
Scottish League Cup : 1997-98, 2000-01
Scottish Cup :2000-01, 2003-04
Spanish League: 2004-05, 2005-06
Spanish Super Cup: 2005-06
UEFA Champions League: 2005-06

Individual
Golden Boot: 2000-01
MBE: for services to Scottish football 2006
Greatest Swedish football player of the last 50 years (Swedish FA, 2004)

Trivia
Henrik's first and last goals at Celtic Park were for teams other than Celtic. OG for FC Tirol Insbruuk in August 1998 and Barca in 2004

Pictures

• Picture Gallery

Articles

• "King in Exile" interview - Herald (Feb 2006)
• "A Day in Helsingborg" (Psychoheart)
• "Celtic always special to me" (Irish Independent)
• "Celtic v Rangers" better than 'El Classico'

• Larsson's testimonial (BBC)
• Larsson's last game at Parkhead (BBC)

Quotes

• Quotes on and by Henrik