Celtic legend Henrik Larsson had admitted he won’t know who to cheer for when his old club meet Swedish side Helsingborg in the Champions League playoffs next week.

Parkhead hero Larsson started and ended his playing career with the Helsingborg.

He told Celtic’s website, “It reminds me of when I was at Barcelona and we were drawn in the Champions League against Celtic.

“My phone never stopped and this was no different. I came out of training and had about 15 missed calls. I thought to myself that Celtic must have got Helsingborg in the qualifier.

“But this is a really tough one for me and I am caught in the middle between Celtic and Helsingborg.
“Helsingborg gave me a start in European football and Celtic made me the player I was, so it is not easy for me to pick one over the other.”

Celtic travel to Sweden for the first game on August 21 with Larsson warning his old team-mate Neil Lennon not to take anything for granted.

“It won’t be easy for Celtic to go and pick up a win, but if I was pushed I would say that having the home match second may just give a slight advantage to them,” said Larsson.

“A lot of people have mentioned Helsingborg’s start to the season but they are the champions and finished second the previous season.

“If you look at how they play they are very good defensively and don’t concede many goals.”

Celtic were beaten 2-0 by Real Madrid in a friendly in Philadelphia last weekend when youngster Dylan McGeouch was taken to hospital with a broken jaw.

Boss Neil Lennon has been linked with a move for Huddersfield’s Scottish striker Jordan Rhodes.