Football: LARSSON: THIS GAME IS BIGGEST IN WORLD

CELTIC legend Henrik Larsson has rated the Old Firm derby the biggest in the world.

When asked whether Barcelona versus Real Madrid was bigger than the Old Firm derby, the Nou Camp striker laughed: "Celtic and Rangers is the biggest there is.

"Barca-Real is not a real derby either, because it's two different cities.

"It's a huge game, but the intensity of the Old Firm derby is more than here. It's the noise.

"It's a big city divided into two camps.

"Celtic were first to win nine in a row. Rangers were second, but no one really remembers the second ones that did it.

"So it would have been devastating for the Parkhead fans and the club if Rangers had won 10."

The former Celtic King of Kings still watches the Hoops on satellite TV and keeps in regular contact with his old team-mates.

The Swedish international will watch today's match at his home in Spain with former Rangers rival and Barcelona team-mate Giovanni van Bronckhurst.

Hoops hero Larsson claims he still gets the sweats almost three years after Celtic's UEFA Cup Final defeat to Porto.

He said: "I still get goosebumps here when I talk about that game. It still hurts me when I talk about it. You shouldn't lose when you score two goals in the final. You just shouldn't lose."

Larsson admits he still has a love for Celtic and considers Scotland to be his second home.

He said: "On my first day at Celtic, John Clark took me out into the hallway and pointed at one of the pictures of when they won the European Cup, saying, 'That's me, wee man'. I was there for such a long time that you get to know the history, what it means to people.

"But I always said I would stay out of religion because I don't think it has anything to do with football - it's the same here and with the politics of Catalunya.

"Martin O'Neill (pictured below) is a special man. I've never seen anybody with the passion for the game that he had - and Celtic had always been his club.

"He's one of the best coaches I ever had and he's a clever man."

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