'I should have gone to Man Utd': Emmanuel Petit regrets joining Chelsea in 2001

Emmanuel Petit admits he made a mistake joining Chelsea instead of Manchester United when he left Barcelona in 2001.

Petit joined the Catalan club from Arsenal a year before after three fine seasons.

However, he lasted one year before being linked with a move back to England, with United and Chelsea keen and Arsenal interested in a return.

He eventually opted to join the Blues but says that is a choice he now regrets.

'I had many clubs interested in taking me back to England [in 2001],' Petit told FourFourTwo. 'Arsenal approached me but so did Manchester United.

'I spoke to Arsene. He really wanted me back, but I was honest with him: I said, 'I appreciate it and it's very tempting, but I didn't feel that you wanted me to stay when I signed for Barcelona a year ago'.

'It's like divorcing somebody: when you don't feel desired by them, what's the point of going back?

'I should have gone to Manchester United, because Sir Alex Ferguson called me twice. We had a very good conversation and it was tempting, but once again I listened to my wife.

'She wanted to go back to London – she didn't want to live in Manchester – so I made the same mistake twice in one year.'

both United and Arsenal would lift multiple trophies in the years that followed while Petit failed to add any silverware before his retirement in 2004.