Larsson turned down move to Man United

HENRIK LARSSON yesterday revealed that he turned down a move to Manchester United to stay with Celtic, but it is unlikely he would do that now with the state of the Scottish game.

The prolific striker will finally sever his links with the Glasgow giants this summer after seven years of service.

However, as he waits for clubs ideally Spanish to come knocking, the former Swedish international lifted the lid on Alex Ferguson's bid to sign him in the 1998-99 season.

"There were teams interested in me, but I was settled here," explained Larsson. "I had a rough time in Holland, so I decided to stay here with my family and get on with it. I can now say that it hasn't been the wrong decision, because Celtic have developed into a really good team."

But Larsson is saddened by the rapid financial decline of Scottish football which has plunged to a new low with Livingston's plunge into administration earlier this week.

He feels that he is leaving the Bank of Scotland Premier League at just the right time.

"It's very sad what's going on here because it's very important that the game is on a high and show the rest of the world that it's not as bad as everybody makes out. But now with the finances the way they are it's very bad to attract players."

Larsson said no Spanish clubs have been in for him yet and he is refusing to rule out a move to the Barclaycard Premiership in the summer. "I'd like to go to Spain or somewhere where it's warm, not for a holiday, but to play and enjoy my football."