Wayne Rooney names Henrik Larsson as his ‘favourite ever’ loan signing made by Manchester United during his time at the club.
Manchester United signed Henrik Larsson on a short-term loan from Helsingborgs IF during the Swedish off-season.
Larsson made 13 appearances (seven in the Premier League) and scored three goals – one in each of the three major competitions he played in for United.
Despite being 35 years old and only spending 10 weeks at Old Trafford, Larsson had a huge impact on the dressing room.
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Wayne Rooney celebrates with Henrik Larsson
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Wayne Rooney wishes Man Utd signed Henrik Larsson sooner
There has always been a feeling of regret that Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t sign Larsson earlier in his career.
After Larsson began his professional career in Sweden, he moved to Feyenoord in 1993 and eventually signed for Celtic in 1997.
In Glasgow, he became known as the ‘King of Kings’ by the Celtic faithful, scoring an incredible 242 goals in 315 appearances and winning the European Golden Boot in 2001.
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Larsson faced many hurdles in his career, such as multiple serious injuries, but he still managed to score 19 goals in 59 appearances for Barcelona between 2004 and 2006.
Ferguson opted to sign Larsson on loan in January 2007 as an insurance policy for a strike force that included a young Wayne Rooney and an injury-prone Louis Saha.
Reflecting on his time with Larsson as a teammate, Rooney has now claimed that the Swede was his favourite ever loan signing made by the Red Devils, having idolised the striker as a kid.
“Yeah, it was mad,” Rooney said on the Rooney Recalls podcast with BBC Sounds.
“And not to the extent, obviously, where I played with Duncan Ferguson, but watching Henrik grow up and then all of a sudden, he comes to us on loan, and I’m playing in front of him. And do you know what?
“He was better than what I thought him. Because when you’re watching him play for Celtic, and not to sound disrespectful, you’re thinking, oh, it’s in Scotland, it’s Scottish football, it’s not as good as the Premier League. And then he came in to play with us.
“And even when, as an older person, his movement was incredible. And we actually had a real good chemistry between us. We worked off each other, and he made some really good runs and stuff, so he was, and then that got me thinking, how good he must have been when he was younger.
“Of course, he’s my favourite ever loan player that we ever had. We haven’t had a lot, but it was that three months, I just wish we’d have got him a bit younger.”
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Wayne Rooney left an instant impression on Henrik Larsson
After spending two years in the same Barcelona team as Ronaldinho and Deco, Larsson paid a huge compliment to Rooney when he was just 21 years old.
Larsson had been in the same team as Rooney for a month – playing five matches together – by the time he claimed the England international ranked alongside any player he ever appeared alongside.
“Wayne Rooney is right up there with the very best players I have ever played with,” Larsson told BBC Radio Manchester in February 2007, as quoted by the Irish Examiner.
“He can shoot and score goals and is a great passer of the ball. It is fantastic to have the opportunity to play with him.
“I have always said it is easy to play with great players – and he is a great player.
“When you look at Wayne and Cristiano (Ronaldo), it is frightening to think they can only get better because both are already up at such a high level.
“It is up to them how good they want to be because there is no limit.”
Larsson also revealed that Rooney was better than Xavi on a recent podcast.
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