Striker Henrik Larsson agreed to move to Manchester United on loan from Helsingborg because he felt it was his last chance to join such a big club. "When I heard about this loan deal I just thought it was a chance I could not say no to," said the 35-year-old. "I did have opportunities to move to the Premiership when I was at Celtic but my family was settled in Glasgow."
He has been training with United ahead of the loan deal, which runs from the beginning of January to 12 March. He will not be available to face Newcastle on New Year's Day because his registration will not have been processed. But he could appear in seven Premiership games, including trips to Arsenal and Liverpool, FA Cup ties up to the quarter-final stage and both legs of the Champions League knock-out phase clash against Lille.
His first match is likely to be an FA Cup tie against an Aston Villa side managed by his old boss at Celtic, Martin O'Neill, on 7 January. Larsson spent seven hugely successful years at Celtic before moving on to Barcelona, where he won the Champions League last year.
He then moved to home-town club Helsingborgs in Sweden, from whom he is joining United on loan. "I am fully aware of how important this period is for the club," added Larsson. "Manchester United are a great club, with a big history and a great tradition. It feels really good to be here and hopefully I can help them.
"It is always difficult coming into a new club but everything has felt OK so far. "It is quite an exciting prospect to be able to play with so many world-class players."
It appears there is no chance the loan period will be extended, no matter what position United find themselves in when the time comes for the veteran striker to return.
"It is difficult but Helsingborg have been good to us with this deal and we have to be fair with them," said United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
