Sound Speech From Henrik Larsson to Barcelona to complete Celtic Legend Move 2024

Most players would instantly hop on a plane to Catalonia if Barcelona were to call. Not the Henrik Larsson type.

When the Celtic veteran decided to end his historic seven years in Glasgow back in 2004, he had the biggest teams in Europe to pick from. With an amazing 242 goals in 315 appearances, the King of Kings—possibly the greatest Hoops player ever—left Parkhead on a free transfer.

The King of Kings wanted to move to a warmer climate but as he represented Sweden at the Euros, the heroic striker put his future to the back of his mind. Even when Barca were on the other end of the phone, Larsson’s immediate reaction tells you everything you need to know about the laid-back striker.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Guardian, he said: “I got about 30 offers after announcing I was leaving Celtic, from Spain, Italy, Germany, France, something from the UAE. I got a phone call from my wife, Magdalena, saying Barcelona was interested. I was in my bubble with Sweden at the 2004 Euros.

“I said: ‘Tell them they have to wait,’ as I didn’t want to disturb my preparations. She laughed and said: ‘I don’t think they are going to wait.’ So she went straight over to Spain with my agent and took the negotiations herself.”

In the end, Larsson did complete a sensational move to the Nou Camp just weeks after his emotional Celtic Park departure. Two years later, he left as a Barcelona hero after providing the two assists against Arsenal that won the Champions League in 2006.

The Super Swede said: “Obviously it was a very different dressing room to Celtic. Coming to Barcelona, we had Ronaldinho, they also signed Deco, [Ludovic] Giuly, Samuel Eto’o at the same time as me. I enjoyed not being the main man anymore. Ronaldinho had the ­pressure. And he dealt with it completely differently.”

On that unforgettable night at the Stade de France in May 2006, Larsson revealed he almost didn’t make Frank Rijkaard’s matchday squad. He added: “It was touch and go between me and Messi. But he sat in the stands and I went to the bench.

“Back then, Messi wasn’t the Messi he became. Although he was still a very talented player, he had changed over the course of a year or two. But Frank Rijkaard understood I was accustomed to that rough game because I was also playing an English squad.