“I would have done anything to keep him” – Ferguson reveals the Man Utd star who got a standing ovation from the team on his final appearance | OneFootball

Sir Alex Ferguson has named a surprise player that he wished he could have kept for longer at Manchester United, and he’s certainly a cult hero.

A lot of younger Man Utd fans today won’t be aware of just how good Henrik Larsson was, and what kind of an impact he made in just two months on loan at Old Trafford.

Larsson is most well known for spending the peak years of his career at Celtic, where he scored an incredible 242 goals in just seven seasons.

The former Sweden international was surely more than good enough to have spent more time at a truly elite club in a more competitive league, but it wasn’t until 2004 that he made the move to Barcelona.

At Barca, Larsson also had a great impact in a relatively short space of time, scoring 22 goals in two seasons at the Nou Camp, and winning the Champions League in his final appearance.

Henrik Larsson praised by Thierry Henry after Champions League final heroics

Larsson came off the bench to set up both of Barcelona’s goals against Arsenal in the 2006 Champions League final, and it’s fair to say he earned some big praise from Gunners legend Thierry Henry.

“All the time you talk about Ronaldinho and everything, but I didn’t see him today,” Henry said after the game.

“I saw Henrik Larsson two times after he came on – that was the key of the game. So people talk a lot about Ronaldinho and Eto’o, but talk about the proper people who make a difference, and that was Henrik Larsson tonight on two assists.”

Larsson returned to Sweden with Helsingborg after that game, spending four seasons there in a second spell, but it was during that time that he also received a call from Sir Alex Ferguson.

Fergie needed some cover up front during the 2006/07 season, and brought Larsson in for just a two-month spell.

The veteran forward made 13 appearances in total, scoring three goals, and he very quickly made himself loved by his teammates and fans.

Sir Alex Ferguson wanted to keep Henrik Larsson

Henrik Larsson in action for Manchester United (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

United fans trying to figure out how to buy Man United vs Real Sociedad tickets for Thursday night will surely wish they were getting to see a legendary striker like this in action – how they could do with someone of his calibre over the hugely underwhelming Rasmus Hojlund right now!

Discussing Larsson later, Ferguson 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.”