Ex-Celtic star Henrik Larsson announces retirement

FORMER Celtic ace Henrik Larsson will retire at the end of the season, his club Helsingborg have announced.

The news comes nine days after the 38-year-old quit the Swedish national team for the second time in his career following their failure to reach the World Cup finals.

"We at HIF had obviously hoped Sweden's greatest player down the years would play on for another season," Helsingborg's director of sport Jesper Jansson told www.hif.se.

"But we respect Henrik's decision and are incredibly grateful for everything he has done and proud to have been a part of his fantastic career."

Larsson has been a prolific striker throughout his career, scoring over 300 goals during spells with Feyenoord, Barcelona, Celtic and Helsingborg.

He was also capped 106 times by Sweden, netting 37 times.

Larsson's final game for Helsingborg will be the Allsvenska clash at Elfsborg on November 1.

The forward was quoted last week saying he would be keen on a return to Celtic in a coaching capacity sometime in the future.

In pictures: The career of Henrik Larsson