Former Barcelona assistant reveals he recommended Liverpool superstar to the club | OneFootball

Former Barcelona footballer and coach Henrik Larsson has revealed that he put forward the name of Alexander Isak to the club’s board during his time at the club as assistant to Ronald Koeman.

Larsson, a celebrated striker during his playing days, spent two seasons at Barcelona between 2004 and 2006, during which he managed 19 goals and six assists in 59 appearances.

Larsson returned to Barcelona in 2020 as an assistant coach under Ronald Koeman and stayed with the Catalans for one year.

Larsson recommended Isak to Barcelona

During that period, as the club’s assistant coach, Larsson was asked to draft a list of potential striker targets for Barcelona.

And the former Swedish international revealed in an interview with Flashscore (h/t Mundo Deportivo) that he put the name of current Liverpool No. 9 Alexander Isak on the list.

“I spoke to Barcelona about him when I was there. They asked me for a list of strikers, and I suggested Alexander Isak,” said Larsson.

Henrik Larsson spent time at Barça as a player and coach. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Isak, at the time, was at Real Sociedad, and Barça did explore the possibility of a move for him, but the Basque club’s demands made it impossible.

In the end, the Swede ended up signing for Newcastle United, where he excelled, before securing a mega-money transfer to Liverpool this past summer.

Meanwhile, Larsson also revealed that he had suggested the name of Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona as well, but they were not in a position to sign him at the time due to finances.

The Pole eventually ended up arriving at the Catalan club in 2022, although with his contract expiring at the end of the season, they are again on the lookout for a new top striker, with several big names on the radar.

Isak, too, was one of the names that Barça had been considering, but his transfer to Liverpool ended any hopes of a move.