Swedish football has provided some top talent to overseas divisions, and many of its players have travelled to the English Premier League. Not all of those players have been successful, however, and here are the small group of footballers to have won the EPL Title.
By the end of the 2022/23 English domestic season, only three Swedish football players had won the Premier League title. The men in question are Jesper Blomqvist and Henrik Larsson of Manchester United, and Freddie Ljungberg, who won the EPL with Arsenal.
Freddie Ljungberg
Winger Freddie Ljungberg was playing for his local side Halmstad when Arsenal acquired his signature in 1998. He’d shown promise in Sweden, but this was a shrewd purchase by the Gunners, and the player stayed with the club for the next nine years.
Ljungberg became a first team regular as soon as he arrived at Highbury. He was a skilfull winger, laying on assists for others and scoring his share of important goals. After joining Arsenal in 1998, he had to wait for major honours, but the Swedish international made the most of his success.
He won the Premier League twice, in 2002 and 2004, and also claimed three FA Cup wins and a Charity Shield Trophy. As of 2024, Freddie Ljungberg is the only Swedish player to have won multiple Premier League titles.
Jesper Blomqvist
Jesper Blomqvist won three major titles with Manchester United during his first season in English football. Many top clubs were chasing his signature in 1998, but United won the race as they secured the midfielder’s signature from Italian side Parma.
Blomqvist’s appearances were limited in that 1998/99 campaign, as manager Alex Ferguson bought the player as a back up to Ryan Giggs. The Swedish international made 25 EPL appearances in the season, scoring one goal, and those contributions were enough to earn him a winner’s medal as Manchester United claimed the Premier League title.
The player won three medals in that first season. He was part of the squad that won the FA Cup in 1999, and started the Champions League final in the same year. Jesper Blomqvist helped United to complete that historic treble and, in doing so, he became the first Swedish player to win a Premier League title.
Sadly, before the new season, Blomqvist suffered a serious injury and never played for Manchester United again. He later attempted to rebuild his career with Everton and Charlton Athletic before returning to his native Sweden with Djurgarden.
Henrik Larsson
Football fans in the UK were already aware of Sweden’s Henrik Larsson when he arrived at Old Trafford. The striker had played for Scottish side Celtic and had enjoyed a prolific scoring record north of the border.
Larsson was playing for Helsingborgs in 2007 and, when Swedish football reached its offseason, he negotiated a loan deal with Manchester United. The forward played in just seven league games, scoring one goal, but EPL rules meant that Henrik Larsson earned a winner’s medal when United lifted the trophy at the end of the campaign.
