Henrik Larsson has revealed he planned to retire from the game when he left Celtic — before Barcelona stepped in to sign him.

Larsson joined the Spanish giants in 2004 and helped them win the Champions League last year, before recently enjoying a spell at Manchester United on loan from Helsingborgs.

The 35-year-old told BBC Scotland: "I had been at Celtic for seven years, but I thought it was time to do something else.

"I really didn't have anything lined up, when I got a phone call from my wife saying Barcelona were interested."

Larsson revealed he was determined to lift Europe's top prize to avoid a repeat of the pain he experienced when Celtic lost the UEFA Cup final to Porto three years earlier.

The Swede came off the bench to set up both Barca goals in a 2-1 victory over Arsenal in Paris.

"I didn't want to lose that game, because I had already lost one final, and I didn't want to go through that again," he said.

"It's so terrible when you lose a big final like that.

"It was my last chance to win a major trophy, so I was pleased.

"It was pure happiness, and one of the best days of my life."

Larsson left Old Trafford earlier this month to return to Helsingborgs and he is eager to play on in his home country.

He said: "I'm almost 36 now, and I have to say I'm going to keep playing as long as I can, even though playing in Sweden isn't as high a level as Spain or the Premiership.

"But it's still the thing I love to do, so I'm going to keep playing for as long as I can."