Jari Olavi Litmanen (pronounced [ˈjɑri ˈlitmɑnen] ⓘ; born 20 February 1971) is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or a second striker.

During his club career, Litmanen represented Reipas, HJK, MyPa and Lahti in Finland, and Ajax, Barcelona, Liverpool, Hansa Rostock and Malmö FF abroad.

Once considered one of the best attacking midfielders in the world,[5] he became the first Finnish footballing superstar while playing for Ajax in the mid-1990s, winning the Champions League in 1995, the peak year of his career.

His later career was marred by injuries, and he was unable to repeat the success of his Ajax years either at Barcelona or Liverpool, often finding himself on the bench, despite some impressive performances for the latter.

[7] However, the original fax document was later revealed in Finnish media, according to which the transfer fee was 100,000 + 800,000 Dutch guilder, which corresponds roughly to €550,000.

A number of European clubs, including Barcelona, Leeds United and PSV,[9] had shown an interest in him, but in the end it was Ajax that bought him.

Then Ajax manager Louis van Gaal was apparently not overly impressed with him, but the team physiotherapist suggested using him as a stand-in for Dennis Bergkamp, who was injured at the time.

Litmanen was one of the star players of Van Gaal's team that won three consecutive Dutch championships and reached the UEFA Champions League final twice in a row.

Litmanen spent seven years in Amsterdam, winning four Dutch championships and three KNVB Cups, and scored a total of 129 goals, 91 of them in the league.

An article in The Observer in April 2000 likened him to Pope John Paul II, in that he was "making few appearances and looking more frail each time".

He comes with a massive reputation and I believe he's one of the most exciting signings we have made," said Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier after the transfer had been completed.

Litmanen made a good start at Liverpool but broke his wrist playing for Finland against England at Anfield in late March 2001 and missed the rest of the season.

He was one of the key players as Ajax reached the quarter-finals of the 2002–03 Champions League, but he continued to be plagued by injuries, and much of the following season was once again spent on the sidelines.

[16] Litmanen, however, moved to German Bundesliga strugglers Hansa Rostock in January 2005, but he was unable to prevent them being relegated, which ended his stint at the club.

Litmanen joined the Swedish club Malmö FF in July 2005 in an attempt to help them qualify for the Champions League.

[20] Litmanen eventually made his debut for Fulham in a reserve-team match against Tottenham on 31 March 2008, but he was released in May of the same year without playing a single game for the first team.

He played an important role in helping Lahti to finish third in the league and qualify for Europe for the first time in the club's history.

On 23 October 2010, he scored his 50th Veikkausliiga goal, but this happened in a 3–2 defeat against TPS and didn't stop the club from being relegated to Ykkönen.

On 20 April 2011, Litmanen signed a one-year contract with the reigning Finnish champions HJK at age 40, making him one of the few footballers to play at professional level in four different decades (1980s–2010s).

On 29 October 2011, Litmanen celebrated his 200th league match by giving three assists in HJK's 5–2 home win over Haka.

Litmanen served as Finland's captain from 1996 to 2008, and was arguably their key player for more than a decade, helping the team to many unexpected victories against higher ranked opposition.

[citation needed] Litmanen earned his 100th cap on 25 January 2006 against South Korea, one of only four Finns to have reached such a milestone, the others being Ari Hjelm, Sami Hyypiä and Jonatan Johansson.

When he played for Finland against South Korea on 19 January 2010, Litmanen became one of a handful of male players to represent a national team in four different decades,[24] a feat matched by Andorra's Ildefons Lima in June 2021.

In February 2011, the sports news programme Urheiluruutu of the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE interviewed two of Litmanen's former teammates about the possibility of his working for Ajax when he decides to end his playing career.

Litmanen became a father in November 2005 when his Estonian girlfriend Ly Jürgenson gave birth to a son named Caro.

[28] On 10 October 2010, Litmanen became the first Finnish team sport player to be honoured with a statue: it stands at Kisapuisto (Lahti) where he started his career in the 1970s.