IT was almost as if he had never been away as Henrik Larsson returned to Parkhead for the Celtic Charity Foundation match yesterday.

The legendary striker showed he had lost none of his magnificence since leaving in 2004 by treating the sell-out crowd to a first-half hat-trick and helping his Henrik’s Heroes side to a comfortable 5-2 victory over Lubo’s Legends.

Those involved in the star-studded exhibition game, and they included Artur Boruc, John Hartson, Neil Lennon, Lubomir Moravcik and Stiliyan Petrov, in a game which raised hundreds of thousands of pounds, may have lost a yard of two of pace since retiring, but all the old skills were there.

Read more: Matthew Lindsay: Celtic left it late against Aberdeen - but their domestic dominance is total and looks set to continueThe Herald:

“It’s always nice to be back here at Celtic Park,” said Larsson. “It’s a special place in my heart. I had a great time here and I’ve got some terrific memories so to be back playing in front of that crowd was great.

“But I wasn’t wishing I was still playing. I am happy with the career I had. I had a great career and everything has to come to an end.”

The Swede took time to pay tribute to the current Celtic team, who completed the domestic treble on Saturday with a dramatic late victory over Aberdeen in the William Hill Scottish Cup final at Hampden on Saturday, afterwards.

The former Barcelona and Manchester United man played when the Parkhead club last won all three trophies when Martin O’Neill was in charge back in 2001 and knows how impressive an achievement it is.

“I have a lot of great and fond memories from Hampden and seeing Celtic winning the game so late was just great,” he said.

“They go down in history. To go a full season without getting beaten is just great. This team has so much potential. You don’t go a full season without getting beat without being very good. The future will tell what is next for this Celtic side and how great they are going to be.”

Read more: Matthew Lindsay: Celtic left it late against Aberdeen - but their domestic dominance is total and looks set to continue

Asked if he would like to play for Brendan Rodgers’s side, he said: “I don’t know if it would have been possible to score more goals than I did for Celtic. But it’s a good side. We were a very good side too.

“Who out of the current side would get into our side? I will not answer that question. It’s not fair to compare different eras. Football is always continually developing so it is hard to com-pare teams. People should just be happy at Celtic winning this season and the way they have been winning. It should be cherished.

“I’ve seen Celtic this season and they have done fantastically. You can only beat what is in front of you and they’ve certainly done that.”

Larsson, who arrived at Celtic after a difficult spell at Feyenoord in the Netherlands, stayed at Celtic for seven years and believes that Rodgers will be able to retain the services of his key players if they can qualify for the Champions League group stages again.

“It’s hard to look into other people’s minds, but when you are in all the competitions you can attract good players,” he said. “There are three qualifiers for the Champions League and if they get in it will be easier. Guaranteed European football is always a plus.

“Don’t get me wrong. I had a good salary my last couple of contracts here. It would be wrong to say otherwise. I had opportunities to go down south but I didn’t think it was worth it to go down there to earn a few thousands pounds more.

“I was happy at Celtic playing in a good team and winning things. I was playing for Sweden and going to the World Cup and European Championships. I really enjoyed playing all the years I was here at Celtic.”

Read more: Matthew Lindsay: Celtic left it late against Aberdeen - but their domestic dominance is total and looks set to continue

O’Neill’s treble-winning team went on to reach the UEFA Cup final two years later, but Petrov, the Bulgarian midfielder who played in that game against Porto in Seville, warned against expecting too much from Rodgers’s side.

“It’s been an incredible season by Celtic,” he said. “But we can’t judge this team too early. It’s Brendan’s first season and he needs time. It’s going to be tough in Europe, but if they progress the way they are progressing then maybe one day they will do well. But let’s give them time to build. If he wants to achieve a European final he will need to add players.

“Here we are putting pressure on Brendan Rodgers to try and reach a European final. I think he will need time. If he can achieve that straight away it would be amazing.”