Man United rarely had to rely on loan signings during the Sir Alex Ferguson era, but the chance sign Henrik Larsson was too good an opportunity to turn down.
From Denis Law to Ruud van Nistelrooy, Manchester United have rarely been short of a household name at the tip of their attack over the years.
It was on December 1, 2006, when United announced they had reached an agreement with Helsingborgs IF to sign Swedish icon Henrik Larsson. United were short on attacking options at the time, and having analysed various avenues, the club was adamant that signing the then-35-year-old was the best option available to them.
Writing in his autobiography years later, Ferguson said: "I was ready to make the bid when he was at Celtic but Dermot Desmond, Celtic's majority shareholder, rang me and said, 'You've let me down, Alex, you've got tons of players, we need him." Larsson, who scored 37 goals for his country, soon had his club future sorted, returning to Helsingborgs, who he had previously left in 1993 to move to Feyenoord. However, as already documented, it was not long before he was on the move again, returning to Britain to join United.
"It was just the first game. I wanted to show myself so much that I maybe went in a little bit too much into the game. I should have had a little bit more calmness." The night Larsson scored against Lille was his last appearance at Old Trafford in a United shirt. He made his final appearance of his loan spell against Middlesbrough in an FA Cup tie at the Riverside a few days later.
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