[3] He also represented Näsvikens IK, GIF Sundsvall, IFK Norrköping, Leeds United, FC Zürich, Crystal Palace and Hudiksvall ABK during a career that spanned 1984 and 1998.

A full international between 1990 and 1995, Brolin won 47 caps and scored 27 goals for the Sweden national team and helped them finish third at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

[6] Brolin scored two vital goals in the Coppa Italia run: one in a 1–1 draw with Fiorentina, and the second in the 1–0 victory over Sampdoria in the semi-final.

The following season, the club signed duo Gianfranco Zola and Massimo Crippa for a total of £9 million from cash-strapped Napoli, putting Brolin's place in the team even more in the balance.

He was handed Melli's number 7 jersey and played in a three-man midfield with Gabriele Pin on the right, Crippa on the left and Asprilla and Zola leading the attack.

When the team was a goal down or in need of extra firepower up front, striker Melli came on as a substitute in place of Pin and Zola dropped into midfield, a tactic that was deployed by the coach during the 1993–94 season.

Brolin lasted 62 minutes before he was substituted for Stefano Fiore as Parma drew 0–0 and slipped seven points behind in the title race.

Despite scoring in the Parmalat Cup against the United States (2–1) and Boca Juniors (3–1), and participating in a friendly against Anderlecht (1–0) during the club's pre-season, the coach felt that Brolin lacked the appropriate level of fitness to continue playing in the central midfield position.

Brolin made his first league appearance during the 1995–96 season as a late substitute in a 2–1 home win against Inter Milan on 10 September.

A day after signing for the club, Brolin made his Premier League debut at St James' Park against Newcastle United as an 82nd-minute substitute for Mark Ford.

He continued, briefly, as a regular starter playing in a 2–0 win over Bolton Wanderers on 27 December, in which he scored his second goal for the club.

On 13 January, Brolin hit two goals as ten-man Leeds, without Yeboah and Brian Deane, beat West Ham United 2–0 at Elland Road.

He played in a 2–1 defeat to Nottingham Forest on 31 January, but was dropped for the league match against Aston Villa despite Wilkinson missing nine first-team players through suspensions, injuries and international duty.

He returned to the team as Leeds beat Birmingham City 3–0 on 25 February in the second leg of the League Cup semi-final to set up a final against Aston Villa.

[10] He had told Swedish television that he was going to play out the season on loan to former club IFK Norrköping as a joke but the statement was then picked up by international media and re-reported as fact.

On 1 May, it was announced by the club that Brolin had returned home to Sweden to undergo surgery to remove scar tissue from his troublesome ankle, and was not fit for Leeds' last two league matches.

In 2012, Brolin claimed in Swedish magazine Offside that his poor performance in the game against Liverpool that led to his being dropped had been a protest against Wilkinson playing him out of position on the wing, leaving him "to run up and down the right like an idiot" as opposed to the centrally lying playmaker role he believed that he had been signed for.

Brolin wanted to stay at the club until their mid-season winter break in December to get back to full fitness, but Leeds' new coach George Graham wanted him back at Elland Road and refused to allow him to play for the club against St. Gallen on 9 October, after his loan spell ended on 30 September.

Then, on 24 December, Brolin paid £500,000 of his own money to fund his loan move back to Parma until the end of the season.

Brolin played in an exhibition match at the Olympic Stadium in Montjuïc, Barcelona, on 26 April for the International Association of Professional Footballers (AIFP), of which he was a founding member.

According to Brolin's agent, the club would not meet their price, but the Hearts chief Chris Robinson decided to pull the plug on the deal due to the player's lack of fitness.

He played in the home league match against Everton on 10 January, and netted a ball in the 72nd minute only to see the referee rule it out for offside.

Crystal Palace had been procured by Mark Goldberg who decided Steve Coppell should step down as manager and player Attilio Lombardo would take over as player-manager.

However, it was his hat-trick in his league debut in a 6–0 victory over IFK Göteborg at Idrottsparken in Norrköping that grabbed all the headlines and alerted Sweden's coach Olle Nordin to Brolin's talents.

[19] In the quarter-final against Romania, he scored one of his most famous goals: When Sweden were awarded a free-kick, everyone expected Stefan Schwarz to shoot.

On 7 May 1995, a week after he had returned from injury, Brolin played for Sweden against Iceland, and scored a penalty but was unable to help his team to a much needed victory in their qualifying campaign.

Brolin never played for his country again, but in the last five years he had been selected 47 times at senior level and scored an impressive 27 goals.

A dynamic, energetic, creative and technically gifted footballer, Brolin was a world-class player in his prime,[11][20] who was known for his excellent dribbling skills, as well as for his passing ability and powerful shots on goal.

[26] After retiring from football, Brolin settled to become a businessman and returned to his homeland where for a period of time he owned an Italian-Swedish restaurant called Undici (Italian: 11, the number he wore while playing for Parma).

[29] Brolin also invested money in real estate and – to some public amusement – in a firm selling a new type of mouthpiece for vacuum cleaners.