Former Arsenal player Emmanuel Petit has revealed his decision to quit the gunners for Barcelona was one he regretted.

The Frenchman joined the Catalan giants in 2000 but spent only one campaign at the club before returning to England, where he joined Chelsea.


“The one thing I regret in my football career is having changed Arsenal for Barcelona,” Petit wrote in his autobiography, as cited by Marca.

“The harmony at the club was ruined by cliques and the first time I walked into the dressing room, nobody paid any attention to me or even say hello…there were no welcomes.

“The dressing room was divided into three groups – the Catalans in one corner, the Dutch in another and then the rest.

“That ruined any chance of unity.”

Emmanuel Petit represented Monaco winning the Coupe de France with them and also played in the 1992 European Cup Winners’ Cup final (which Monaco lost to Werder Bremen).

He represented France at international level in two FIFA World Cups and two UEFA European Championships; he scored the third goal in France’s 3–0 victory in the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final and was also a member of the French squad that won UEFA Euro 2000.