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Xavi shares his initial thoughts about Henrik Larsson

Celtic's James Forrest (L) and FC Barcelona's Xavi in action (Reuters)
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Henrik Larsson joined Barcelona in the summer of 2004 after leaving Celtic.

Xavi Qatar

Xavi has admitted to The Scottish Sun that he was not sure about Henrik Larsson when the former Celtic striker joined Barcelona.

Larsson moved to Spanish giants Barcelona in the summer of 2004 after leaving Scottish giants Celtic.

The former Sweden international striker arrived at Camp Nou with a good reputation, having established himself as one of the best players ever to have featured in the Scottish league.

Former Barcelona midfielder Xavi coming up against Celtic's Scott Brown

Xavi, who is now at Al Sadd, was at Barcelona at the time, and the former Spain international midfielder has admitted that he was unsure about the striker.

The Barcelona legend, though, has revealed that once he saw the Swede in training, he realised his quality.

“When I first heard Henrik was signing for Barcelona, my first thought was ‘Well, we’ll have to wait and see about this guy’,” Xavi told The Scottish Sun.

“The gap between Scottish football and La Liga is quite significant. But from the first day I saw him in training, the way he moved and the way he was in the box, I knew he was going to be a really good player for us.”

Celtic Juventus 2001 Henrik Larsson

Larsson enjoyed a successful spell at Barcelona, winning La Liga twice and the Champions League once.

The 45-year-old is one of the greatest players to have ever featured for Celtic, and perhaps in the future, he could become the club’s manager.

The Bhoys have progressed to the group stage of the Champions League this season.

The Scottish Premiership giants are not expected to advance into the last 16 of Europe’s premier club competition, though, as they have Barcelona and Manchester City in their group.

Chris Sutton (L) and Henrik Larsson - Celtic