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After Both Losing Brothers, Rangers Legend Says Bond With Henrik Larsson 'Means More Than Goals'

Sean Meehan
By Sean Meehan
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Kris Boyd and Henrik Larsson are two of the best strikers Scottish football have ever seen.

The two men, who made their names at Rangers and Celtic respectively, will be inextricably linked forever due to their goalscoring exploits. However, after welcoming Larsson onto his joint podcast with Robert Snodgrass, Boyd discovered another side to the former Sweden international.

On the podcast, Larsson opened up about losing his brother to a drugs overdose whilst on international duty.

"During my time in Scotland I had a brother who was on drugs," said Larsson. "Knowing the things I knew about him and having to go out and perform week in week out it was not easy. In the end he took an overdose.

"I talked a lot at the time, and still do, with my wife about things that maybe I didn't want to talk about with other people because I think it is important to share how you feel so that someone can help you. And that might be professional help; which I sought after my brother passed away... I went to a professional and talked with her about different things and I felt so much better afterwards."

Larsson then addressed Boyd, who lost his brother to suicide, and told him that he thinks he should talk to someone as well. "It's important," he added.

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In his Scottish Sun column, Boyd addressed Larsson's words, as well as reflecting on his brother's death.

"Four years ago, when my brother Scott took his own life, I didn’t know which way to turn," Boyd said. "Listening to Henrik talk the other day brought it all back.

"Lee Clark, the manager at the time, was brilliant. I’ll forever be thankful to him for the way he let me deal with it all.

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"We had an away game against Dundee that weekend. I told the gaffer I wanted to play, knowing that preparing for the match would help me switch off from things for a few hours at least.

"Looking back, that was a mistake. I shouldn’t have been anywhere near Dens Park. I was in no state of mind to play football.

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"That hit home to me a few minutes before kick-off, when I was standing on the pitch, just about to shake hands.

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"The Dens Park tannoy announcer read through the teams. Jamie MacDonald, Luke Hendrie, Stevie Smith, Jonathan Burn, Scott Boyd... Scott Boyd.

"In a strange twist of fate around that time, one of my own team-mates had the same name as my brother."

The experience led Boyd to set up a charity, in the hope that he could help people in similar situations to his brother, to aid them in their time of need.

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Boyd's sole objective is to "help people."

"The same way Henrik wants to help people.

"It’s funny, because we’re two of Scottish football’s best strikers — with the stats to back that up.

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"But I feel a bond with him now that means more than all the goals put together.

"He played for Celtic, I played for Rangers.

"But the rivalry means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. Zilch.

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"We both lost our brothers and there isn’t a day that passes when we don’t think about them."

If you’re experiencing a personal crisis, are unable to cope and need support text 'HELLO' to 50808.

SEE ALSO: Yesterday's Performance From John Egan Would Have Had Stephen Kenny Purring

 

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