A STRIKER who became a Manchester United hero despite only being at the club for 10 weeks has revealed an incredible gesture from Sir Alex Ferguson.
Swedish striker Henrik Larsson, 52, came through the ranks in his homeland with Hogaborgs and Helsingborgs before earning a move to Dutch club Feyenoord in 1993.
But four years later his career really took off after he signed for Celtic as he went on to achieve legendary status at Parkhead.
Following four title triumphs and 174 top-flight goals in Scotland he headed to Barcelona in 2004.
His two-year spell at the Nou Camp finished with Larsson coming off the bench to provide both assists to help them beat Arsenal in the 2006 Champions League Final.
He departed a hero that summer and headed back home to join Helsingborgs and, aged 34, thought he would be winding down his career.
However, there was still one more shock twist in store for the forward, who scored 37 goals in 106 caps for Sweden, in 2007.
Ferguson made a surprise move to bring him to Man Utd on loan on a short deal that January.
He only made 13 appearances for the English giants, scoring three goals, but despite the Red Devils wanting to keep him longer, he departed in March.
United went on to win the league, but he was not eligible for a winner’s medal as he had made just seven appearances in the league.
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However, despite spending just a matter of weeks there, he was blown away by his time at the Theatre of Dreams.
And one gesture in particular from the legendary Fergie made a lasting impression.
Larsson, whose son played against United for FC Copenhagen in the Champions League this season, told The Guardian: “When I joined Manchester United, my brother Kim had a christening for one of his boys.
“I asked Sir Alex if it was possible. He arranged a private jet for me to get home after a game. I was only there for 10 weeks but he made me feel so welcome.”
Larsson, who added that he has now fallen out of football after last working for Ronald Koeman while the Dutchman was in charge of Barcelona, added: “I was living at the Lowry [hotel]. Louis Saha and Patrice Evra would take me to lunch, Wayne Rooney too.
“I thought: ‘Oh, they really care.’ So you want to do good by them.
“It was an honour to represent Manchester United.”
While describing the reasons why he dislikes the modern game, Larsson also revealed how he had previously snubbed Ferguson and United several years earlier when he was in his heyday.
And he is adamant that he has no regrets about any of his decisions.
He added: “I’m tired of the game because more now than ever it’s about the money.
“I understand I made good money from my career. You can’t compare me with a factory worker.
“But for me as a professional player, I never cared about money. It was about playing football, the love of the game.
“I had an opportunity to go to Manchester United in the 1990s from Celtic. I would have earned more, maybe £10,000 or £15,000 a week more. But I had just come off three and a half years at Feyenoord where it had been up and down.
“I had just found my feet [at Celtic] and I wanted to go on with that. We’d played in the Uefa Cup, I played for Sweden, I didn’t feel I needed to go somewhere else.
“I didn’t become a superstar at Barcelona, I became a superstar at Celtic.”
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