Early career , June 1993 Larsson began playing at lower-league
Högaborg at age six. He went on to start his professional career playing for their senior team at age 17 while still at school. When he was 18, he had a trial at
Benfica, at the time being managed by Larsson's compatriot
Sven-Göran Eriksson. On leaving school at 18, Larsson combined a semi-pro football career at Högaborg with work as a fruit packer.
Feyenoord In November 1993, Dutch side
Feyenoord signed Larsson for a fee of £295,000. Larsson scored six goals in 27 appearances in his first season. Larsson won his first major winner's medal on 12 May 1994, when he played in the Feyenoord side which defeated
NEC 2–1 in the final of the
KNVB Cup. The following season, Larsson won his second winner's medal in the same tournament when Feyenoord won 2–1 against
Volendam. He did record a
hat-trick in a 4–3 win against
Werder Bremen in the
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in
1994–95. In 1997, Larsson told manager
Arie Haan that he wished to leave the club.
Celtic 1997–2000 Following the contract dispute with Feyenoord, Larsson was signed by Celtic manager
Wim Jansen in July 1997 for a fee of £650,000. He scored an own goal in his first European game, although Celtic did go on to win 6–3 against Austrian side
Tirol Innsbruck. He went on to score 19 goals in all competitions, and was Celtic's top scorer for the season. In November 1997, Larsson won his first medal for the club after a 3–0 win over
Dundee United at
Ibrox Stadium gave Celtic the
Scottish League Cup. Larsson scored Celtic's second goal in the match. On the final day of the league season, he scored the opener with a powerful shot from 20 yards out in a 2–0 win against
St Johnstone to clinch the championship for Celtic. He finished fourth in the voting for the
SFWA Footballer of the Year in 1998. Larsson's second season with the club saw a change in management with
Jozef Vengloš taking over following Jansen's resignation. Playing in a more advanced striker's role, Larsson scored 38 goals to end the season as both Celtic and Scottish football's top goalscorer. During the season, Larsson also scored for the first time in an Old Firm match, with two goals in a 5–1 victory in November, and the equaliser in the 2–2
New Year's Day match at Ibrox. Throughout the season, Larsson forged a prolific partnership with diminutive Slovak playmaker
Ľubomír Moravčík. He was also awarded the honours of
SPFA Players' Player of the Year, SFWA Footballer of the Year and
Swedish Footballer of the Year. In 1998–99, Celtic finished runners-up to rivals Rangers in both the newly established
Scottish Premier League (SPL) and the
Scottish Cup. The 1999–2000 season saw another change in management for Celtic. Former
Liverpool and
England international winger
John Barnes replaced Vengloš to become manager at the club. Larsson scored eight league goals in his nine games for the club. This resulted in him spending eight months on the sidelines, only returning on the last day of the 1999–2000 season. John Barnes cited Larsson's injury as being a significant factor in his sacking by Celtic after only months in the position. It was initially feared that Larsson had suffered a compound leg fracture, an injury which would normally result in an even longer absence―or possibly even end his career―but X-rays soon revealed that the injury was not as serious as originally feared. Larsson made a brief return in March and scored three goals in two
under-21 matches, but a sustained injury to his left shin in a third match meant he missed the
2000 Scottish League Cup Final. By the time Larsson had completed his full rehabilitation, Barnes had been sacked and replaced by director of football
Kenny Dalglish as interim manager. Larsson made his comeback with a substitute appearance against
Dundee United at
Celtic Park on the final day of the SPL season.
2000–03 Following the arrival of
Martin O'Neill in the summer of 2000, Larsson had his most successful season for Celtic. He began a partnership with new arrival
Chris Sutton, scoring 35 league goals in 38 league games to become SPL top goalscorer and to win the
European Golden Shoe. The season saw Celtic win the domestic treble of the Scottish League Cup, Scottish Cup and the SPL. He scored a
hat-trick in a 3–0 win over
Kilmarnock at
Hampden Park to win the Scottish League Cup, the first non-Scottish player to do so in a cup final in Scotland. He also scored twice in the Scottish Cup in a 3–0 win over
Hibernian. breaking
Charlie Nicholas' post-war club record of 48 goals (in all competitions) in a season, with a brace against
Dundee United in the Scottish Cup semi finals, equalling
Brian McClair's post-war club record of 35 league goals in season with a goal in a 5–2 defeat of Hibs, and scoring his 50th goal of the season against Rangers at Ibrox in a 3–0 victory towards the end of the season and finishing the season with a total of 53 goals in all competitions. Rangers manager
Dick Advocaat said "Larsson is one of the best strikers in Europe, maybe the world. If you watch [Gabriel]
Batistuta, he is sometimes not seen for 90 minutes but he scores two goals. Larsson has even more, because, besides being a good player and goalscorer, he has a tremendous work rate." Larsson's fifth season at Celtic yielded a second-consecutive SPL title for the club. It also marked the club's first foray into the
UEFA Champions League group stage. Larsson scored his first Champions League goal with a penalty in Celtic's opening fixture in a 3–2 defeat to
Juventus in
Turin. He scored again for Celtic in their Champions League campaign with the only goal in a 1–0 victory over
Porto, and again from the penalty spot against Juventus in a 4–3 victory at Celtic Park. Despite achieving a Scottish record of nine points in the group stage, Celtic failed to qualify for the latter stages and dropped into the UEFA Cup. The club were drawn against
Valencia, with Larsson scoring the second-leg goal to take the tie into penalties which Celtic eventually lost. Larsson once again ended the season as SPL top goalscorer with 29 goals from 33 league appearances. The 2002–03 season saw the club reach the
2003 UEFA Cup Final. After losing out on a place in the Champions League following an away goals defeat to
Basel, Celtic again dropped into the UEFA Cup. In the first round, they were paired with Lithuanian side
Sūduva, with Larsson scoring a hat-trick in the 8–1 first leg victory, as they progressed 10–1 on aggregate after adding a 2–0 away win. The second round saw former Rangers player-manager
Graeme Souness's
Blackburn Rovers side visit Celtic Park in a match dubbed "The Battle of Britain". Celtic went into the second leg at
Ewood Park 1–0 up courtesy of a late Larsson goal. His winning goal (his 22nd European goal for Celtic) meant he became the all-time top scorer for a Scottish club in
European competition. The following rounds saw Celtic beat
Celta Vigo 2–2 on away goals, and
VfB Stuttgart 5–4 on aggregate. Larsson missed both ties with Stuttgart, following a broken jaw, after a collision with
Gustave Bahoken in an SPL match against
Livingston, but he returned from injury in time for Celtic's quarter-final clash with
2001 winners Liverpool. Larsson scored the opener in a 1–1 draw at Celtic Park. Celtic followed that up with a 2–0 victory at
Anfield to win the tie 3–1 on aggregate, Celtic met Portuguese side
Boavista in the semi-final. Boavista took the advantage on away goals after a 1–1 draw in the first leg, in which Larsson scored the equaliser after missing a penalty. In the second leg, Larsson struck for Celtic after a one-two with
John Hartson with ten minutes remaining. The goal sent Celtic through to their first European final since 1970. The final in Seville against Porto saw Larsson equalise twice with two headers, although Celtic eventually lost 3–2 after extra time. Celtic finished runners-up to Rangers on the last day of the SPL season, by only a single goal-difference. 2003 also saw Larsson voted as the
Greatest Swedish Footballer of the Last 50 Years as part of the
UEFA Jubilee Awards. He also finished the season again the top SPL goalscorer with 28 goals from 35 games. and again in 2003. He placed 14th (2001) and 12th (2003) for the
Ballon d'Or. He finished runner-up for the
SFWA Footballer of the Year in 2003 as well.
2003–04 Larsson's seventh and final season for Celtic saw the club win the Scottish Premier League and Scottish Cup titles. He broke the record for European goals with the same British club (shared by
Ian Rush and
Peter Lorimer) after scoring his 31st European goal for Celtic in a Champions League qualifier against
MTK Hungaria. Larsson scored his only Champions League goal of the season against
Anderlecht in a 3–1 win at Celtic Park. He added to his European goal tally with a double in a 3–0 UEFA Cup third round victory over
Teplice, and the equaliser in a first leg quarter-final tie at Celtic Park against
Villarreal, after earlier having a goal disallowed for handball; the match ended 1–1. It was Larsson's final European goal for Celtic. After dropped out of the
Champions League, Celtic reached the
UEFA Cup quarter-finals, eliminating
Barcelona en route, before losing 3–1 on aggregate to Villarreal. In March 2004, Larsson equalled
Bobby Lennox's post-war record of 167 league goals and went level with
Stevie Chalmers' 231 goals for the club with strike in 2–1 win over Dundee. Larsson's final goal against Rangers came in a 1–0 Scottish Cup win at Parkhead. His final competitive game at home for Celtic came in a league match against Dundee United on 16 May 2004, and he scored both goals as Celtic won 2–1. In his last competitive appearance for Celtic, he scored two goals to defeat
Dunfermline Athletic on 22 May 2004 at Hampden and win the
2004 Scottish Cup Final. After leaving Celtic, Larsson returned to play in testimonial matches three times. In May 2005, he played in
Jackie McNamara's testimonial against the
Republic of Ireland. In May 2008, Larsson left Sweden's national training camp early to take part in a match played in memory of Larsson's former teammate
Phil O'Donnell, who had died in December 2007 while playing in a match for Motherwell. Larsson played as part of Celtic's 1998 championship-winning side against the
Motherwell 1991 Scottish Cup-winning side. On 9 August 2011, he played for the Celtic Legends against the Manchester United Legends for
John Kennedy's testimonial He has since returned to play in a further three charity matches at Celtic Park. He played for a Celtic XI against a
Petrov XI in 2013, for Henrik's Heroes against
Lubo's Legends in 2017, and for a Petrov XI against
Milner XI in 2018.
Legacy In his seven years at Celtic, Larsson won four SPL titles, two Scottish League Cups and two Scottish Cups. He was the top goalscorer in the Scottish Premier League for five of the six seasons that he competed in, the only exception being the 1999–2000 season, most of which Larsson missed due to a broken leg. He was the
SPL (1998–2013) record goalscorer with 158 goals (
Kris Boyd broke his record in 2009). , Larsson has scored the third-most-goals in Celtic's history (only
Jimmy McGrory and
Bobby Lennox scored more), which includes fifteen
hat-tricks. Larsson was also a consistent goalscorer in European competition. With 35 goals, he is the record goalscorer for Celtic in
UEFA competitions. Celtic fans selected Larsson (the only player from outside Scotland) in the club's greatest-ever team in 2002 vote. Larsson played a
testimonial match on 25 May 2004 against
Sevilla in front of a capacity crowd at Celtic Park. In all, he scored 242 goals for Celtic in 313 matches, and his performances earned him the nickname
The King of Kings from fans.
Barcelona At the end of the 2003–04 season, Larsson left Celtic on a free transfer and signed a one-year contract with Barcelona with an option for a second year. Larsson's contribution in
Barça La Liga win in his first season there was disrupted by serious injury. He scored three goals in 12 Liga games and one goal (against his former club Celtic) in four
Champions League matches. On 20 November 2004, during the 3–0 victory in
El Clásico against
Real Madrid, Larsson tore the
anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and
meniscus in his left knee. Despite his injury-hit
2004–05 season, in which he played 16 games, Barcelona took the option to extend his contract. in 2006 In December 2005, Larsson announced that at the end of his contract, which ended in July, he would leave Barcelona and return to Sweden to end his career. He revealed that he had refused an offer by club president
Joan Laporta to extend his contract to the end of the next season. On the announcement of his departure,
Ronaldinho said: In Larsson's final match for Barcelona, his substitute introduction was pivotal to win the
2006 Champions League final. Larsson assisted both of Barcelona's goals in a 2–1 win over
Arsenal.
Thierry Henry paid tribute to Larsson's contribution to Barcelona's win after the match, saying, "People always talk about Ronaldinho,
Samuel Eto'o,
Ludovic Giuly and everything, but I didn't see them today, I saw Henrik Larsson. 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
2005–06, Larsson scored ten goals as Barcelona won La Liga for a second consecutive year. In his time at the
Camp Nou, Larsson’s shirt was the third-most-popular at Barcelona’s club shop. Only Ronaldinho and Eto’o shirts outsold his. Larsson was again be shortlisted for
UEFA Team of the Year in 2006 for his performances.
Return to Helsingborg After Sweden's elimination from the
2006 FIFA World Cup on 24 June 2006, Larsson joined up with his former club, Helsingborg. He made his second debut for his home town club against
Hammarby in the
Swedish Cup on 6 July 2006. Helsingborg went on to win the competition, defeating
Gefle 2–0 in the final on 11 November 2006, earning Larsson another medal. Larsson's eight league goals in 15 appearances also helped his team to a fourth-place finish in the Allsvenskan. This successful season earned Helsingborg a slot in the following season's
UEFA Cup. He registered two goals and two assists in three
Royal League matches just before leaving on loan.
Loan to Manchester United Shortly after rejoining Helsingborg, Larsson was signed on loan by
Manchester United from 1 January until 12 March 2007, coinciding with the Allsvenskan's off-season. He scored on his debut against
Aston Villa in the
FA Cup third round on 7 January 2007 at
Old Trafford, facing his former Celtic manager Martin O'Neill. Larsson scored his first
Premier League goal on 31 January in a 4–0 win over
Watford. While United were eager to extend the loan deal, Larsson stated that he had made a promise to his family and his club to return on 12 March. This was confirmed on 20 February, when Larsson announced that he would not be extending his loan period. Despite this,
Alex Ferguson praised the striker, who scored three goals in 13 matches in all competitions during his three-month stay, saying, "He's been fantastic for us, his professionalism, his attitude, everything he's done has been excellent." "We would love him to stay but, obviously, he has made his promise to his family and Helsingborg and I think we should respect that – but I would have done anything to keep him." He made his final appearance for United on 10 March in an FA Cup sixth-round tie away to
Middlesbrough, ending in a 2–2 draw. Manchester United won the
2006–07 Premier League two months after Larsson had left the club, Larsson had not played the required quota of ten league games to qualify for a Premier League winners medal. Despite media reports to the contrary, Larsson stated in 2019 that he did not receive a medal. Larsson's next appearance at Old Trafford in fact came against United, the day after his loan with the club expired, as captain for the Europe XI team in the
UEFA Celebration Match. Larsson received a
standing ovation from the home fans upon being substituted for Liverpool player
Robbie Fowler.
2007–09 After leaving Manchester United in March 2007, Larsson resumed his career with Helsingborg. Larsson helped the club through the preliminary stages of the
UEFA Cup, where Larsson scored twice against Estonian side
Narva Trans and once against League of Ireland side
Drogheda United. The first-round proper of the UEFA Cup that season saw a high-scoring tie between Helsingborg and
Heerenveen, Larsson's side lost 5–3 in the Netherlands on 20 September 2007, with Larsson scoring twice. The return leg in Sweden on 4 October 2007 saw Helsingborg win 5–1, Larsson again scoring, to win the tie 8–6 on aggregate and qualify for the group stage. Helsingborg progressed from the group stage, with Larsson scoring against
Panionios,
Austria Wien and
Bordeaux, and they qualified for the round of 32, where they lost 1–4 on aggregate to
PSV in February 2008. Helsingborg also failed to retain the Swedish Cup, losing 2–1 to
BoIS in the fourth round in June 2007. The 2008 Allsvenskan saw Larsson produce his best league goal-scoring tally since returning to Sweden, with his 14 goals helping Helsingborg to fourth place and qualification in
2009–10 for the rebranded UEFA Europa League, formerly the UEFA Cup. In July 2009, Larsson scored three goals in the Europa League qualifying ties against Eastern European minnows
Mika and
Zestaponi. He broke his knee-cap during the first leg of the next qualifying round against
Sarajevo on 30 July 2009, and then on 24 September 2009 in his first start since returning from injury, he scored two goals (including the winner) against league rivals
AIK. On 20 October 2009, Larsson announced his retirement from playing at the end of the
2009 Allsvenskan. Larsson also discussed the possibility of taking up
floorball on a full-time basis. Larsson took to the pitch for the final time in Helsingborg's 2–0 Allsvenskan loss to
Djurgården on 28 October 2009, and was given a standing ovation from the crowd. As of his retirement, he remains the
Swedish player with the most goals scored (59) in
UEFA competitions (
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is next on 57).
Playing activity after retirement in 2011 Larsson participated in the
Soccer Aid football match at Old Trafford on 6 June 2010 for the Rest of the World team in aid of
UNICEF. Larsson made a promise that at the end of his football career, he would play one season at his first club, Högaborg. When he retired at the end of the 2009 season, that promise was not fulfilled. In August 2010, however, Larsson played with Högaborg's veterans team and scored 16 goals in five matches. In August 2012, Larsson came out of retirement for a brief spell at Swedish fifth division (Division 3) side
Råå. He made one appearance, coming on as a substitute in a league match on 22 September 2012, a 1–1 draw against
Höganäs. Larsson then registered as a player with Högaborg's senior recreational side and played games with them. Due to the many injuries, Larsson was included in the first-team squad that beat
Tenhult with 4–2 on 19 June 2013. He came off the bench in the 85th minute, and played alongside his son,
Jordan. At age 42, Larsson took part in a further league match for Högaborg on 26 October 2013, when he played the first 66 minutes in a 2–0 win over
IF Haga. At age 44, Larsson took part in a 7–1 friendly win for Helsingborg over
IFK Malmö, in which he scored in the 89th minute. ==International career==