Manchester United cult hero Henrik Larsson reveals he threw journalist into swimming pool who 'criticised him as a youth player'

Henrik Larsson, who made a name for himself during his time at Barcelona, had a brief stint with Manchester United as well. The Swedish striker, however, threw a journalist into a swimming pool after being criticized as a young player.

Larsson recently shed light on the incident. He said (via FourFourTwo):

"Yes, that was when you could joke a little bit with the local journalists. I didn’t do it all by myself: there were a few other players and we decided we were going to throw him in for a laugh. He was fully clothed – otherwise it’s no fun. The journalist had criticized me when I was younger, but that wasn’t the reason we did it. He still laughs about it today when I speak to him."

Larsson made only 13 appearances for Manchester United, scoring three goals. The former Barcelona star's most prominent spell came in the Scottish Premier League with Celtic.

He scored 147 goals and provided 58 assists in 179 games for the SPL side. Larsson hung up his boots in 2009. He made 104 appearances for the Swedish national team, scoring 37 goals.

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Henrik Larsson spoke about former Manchester United ace Zlatan Ibrahimovic

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Despite arriving at Manchester United in his late 30s, Zlatan Ibrahimovic became a fan favorite at the club. He played alongside Larsson for Sweden in the 2002 FIFA World Cup as a 20-year-old.

Speaking about his first experience of sharing the pitch with Ibrahimovic, Larsson said:

"He was more naïve at the time, but still a great personality. He had the skills but he didn’t have all the bits in place. Back then, I was asked how good he could be and I said it was up to him, as he had everything. Now he’s one of the world’s best strikers, and has been for years."

Ibrahimovic made 53 appearances for the Red Devils, scoring 29 goals and providing 10 assists. He represented the Swedish national team 121 times, scoring 62 goals. The 41-year-old currently plies his trade for Serie A side AC Milan.