Manchester United have had some huge success in the Premier League, with much of it down to Sir Alex Ferguson's shrewd work in the transfer market
Swedish footballer Henrik Larsson (L) arrives for a press conference with Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson at the Carrington training ground in Manchester, north-west England, 20 December 2006. Larsson has joined the club on loan from Helsinborgs and will spend two-and-a-half months at United and will be eligible to make his debut 01 January 2007 in the English Premiership game against Newcastle.
Swedish footballer Henrik Larsson (L) arrives for a press conference with Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson at the Carrington training ground in Manchester, north-west England, 20 December 2006. Larsson has joined the club on loan from Helsinborgs and will spend two-and-a-half months at United and will be eligible to make his debut 01 January 2007 in the English Premiership game against Newcastle.
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Henrik Larsson won the Champions League with Barcelona and became a cult hero in Scotland for his success with Celtic, but his biggest regret was not spending more time at Manchester United.
Michael Carrick has been busy in the transfer window this summer, signing Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Karl Darlow so far. Despite struggles in recent seasons, it is clear that United still hold a strong pull in bringing players to the club - and there is no better example of someone who felt the club's passion in a short period of time than Larsson.
The Swedish striker joined United on loan during the 2007 January transfer window and spent just half a season in the Premier League. He scored three goals in 13 games and was awarded a league medal thanks to a special dispensation.
However, Larsson headed back to Sweden in the summer following his spell at Old Trafford to keep his promise to return to Helsingborg. This was despite Sir Alex Ferguson's own pleas to keep the prolific centre-forward at the club - something that the striker still regrets not listening to.
Speaking to FIFA in 2010, Larsson said: "If there is one regret I have from my career, it is that I came home to Sweden when Mr Ferguson was trying to get me to stay at Manchester United. I should have stayed at United for longer because I had a great time there and everyone at the club was very keen to keep me. My time there was too short.
Henrik Larsson.
Henrik Larsson was an impact signing at Manchester United during the 2006/07 season(Image: Tom Purslow/Manchester United via Getty Images)
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"The whole experience was fantastic and, although I was 35 at the time, I still felt that I had some good football in me. That is a regret."
Larsson found the most success in Scotland with Celtic, winning four league titles, two Scottish Cups and also coming runner-up in the UEFA Cup - now known as the Europa League. He left for Barcelona in 2004, winning the Champions League in his final game for the club by assisting twice in a 2-1 win over Arsenal.
The Swede returned to his boyhood club of Helsingborg and retired in 2009 after plenty of domestic and European success. However, he agrees with Sir Alex that he should've spent more time at Old Trafford during his career.
Discussing Larsson's time at United, the iconic manager said: "I would have done anything to keep him. His three goals for us was no measure of his contribution. In his last game in our colours at Middlesbrough, we were winning 2-1 and Henrik went back to play in midfield and ran his balls off.
"On his return to the dressing room, all the players stood up and applauded him and the staff joined in. It takes some player to make that kind of impact in two months."