Larsson leaving Barça for home

Henrik Larsson, who was voted the best ever Swedish player in November, is to return home from FC Barcelona when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Decision announced
The 34-year-old striker, who joined Barcelona from Celtic FC in summer 2004, has been offered another one-season deal at the Camp Nou but will now be out of contract on 1 July. Larsson, who has been behind the likes of Samuel Eto'o in the Barcelona pecking order since his return from injury this season, told Helsingborg Dagblad newspaper: "Me and my wife have spoken about this for a while now and it's a decision that has grown on me over the course of the season. If I had played more things might have been different, but the fact that I'm not playing regularly is not the main reason why I'm going back to Sweden. The time is right. It's as simple as that."

Helsingborg link
His former side Helsingborgs IF are among the front-runners to sign Larsson, but the club said: "We will do everything we can to bring Henrik home. We know that we are only allowed to speak to him in January and when that time comes we will have set up a deal which hopefully will be enough to make him choose us." Larsson himself added: "I'm not ruling anything out, but I'm not promising anything either. I'll see what offers I get and after that I'll make my mind up." His current club meet Chelsea FC in the UEFA Champions League first knockout round.