After spending almost a decade at Arsenal, one club legend admitted he should have cut short his tenure at Highbury
Patrick Vieira admitted he should have left Arsenal immediately after their Invincible season to sign for Real Madrid. The Gunners icon joined the Premier League club as a 20-year-old in 1996 but left nine years later as arguably the greatest midfielder to have represented the north London side.
The Frenchman was regularly one of the world's best midfielders during his career in England as his performances at club and international level saw him attract the interest of Europe's biggest clubs.
It was in the summer of 2004 - just months after Arsenal won the Premier League title going unbeaten in their league campaign - that the Spanish giants attempted to prise Vieira away from Highbury.
However, a move never came to fruition with Vieira wary of the lack of praise Claude Makelele endured during his time at Madrid. He later admitted he should have pounced on the opportunity of signing for them.
Speaking in 2010, after signing for Manchester City, Vieira said: "It was complicated at Madrid. I was suspicious. The lack of recognition for Makelele over there scared me. I was scared it would happen to me.
"But I should have gone there. Today I don’t regret the career that I have had but if I could have changed one thing, it would be that. To go to Madrid." Vieira lasted one more year at Arsenal - where he scored the winning penalty in the FA Cup final against Manchester United - before eventually leaving in a £13million deal to Juventus.
Discussing his return to Italy, having enjoyed a short stint at AC Milan from 1995 to 1996, Vieira recalled: "There were years when Arsene said to me: ‘No, you are not leaving’. When in 2005 there was an offer from Juventus, I was in the Bahamas.
"When I came back, Arsene said to me: ‘There is an offer from Juve, what do you want to do?’ I understood that he was saying: ‘If you want to leave, leave’." Given Vieira's forgettable stint in Milan, his decision to take another crack at Serie A surprised many.
Opening up about the role he played under Fabio Capello in Turin, he explained: "The simple idea was to work on the co-ordination of the team. There were the 11 starters and me. Sometimes the ball from the goalkeeper bring up without any opposition.
"Capello put me behind Demetrio Albertini so I had the right position. I had to follow him like a shadow. It was to learn the basics but at the same time it was also a great vote of confidence."
Vieira spent just one season at Juventus before enjoying a four-year stint at Inter Milan who he went on to win three straight league titles with. It's Inter and Arsenal who meet in the Champions League this evening, a year after the Italian side defeated the north London outfit 1-0 at the San Siro.