Emmanuel Petit has revealed why he decided to join Chelsea over Manchester United. The 54-year-old left Barcelona to join the Blues in July 2001 for £7.5m, swapping the Camp Nou for Stamford Bridge.
He featured 76 times for Chelsea across all competitions, scoring three goals and providing seven assists. Petit initially played a key role in Claudio Ranieri's side, helping the West Londoners secure qualification to the Europa League in 2001/02 and the Champions League in 2002/03.
Then, in his third and final season at Chelsea, Petit was relegated to the bench after a series of knee injuries began to take their toll. The Frenchman was later released in the summer of 2004 before announcing his retirement from football the following January at the age of 33.
"I really didn't like the way it ended in the dressing room, with the medical staff and the president at Chelsea," said Petit in an interview with SFR Sport 1's The Locker Room. "I was even disgusted.
"That's why I left and didn't give them any news about me after that. My performances had been suffering because my knee was a mess but I put things off. I hid the truth from the medical staff. I still had the hunger."
Petit left Chelsea on bad terms; it could have been all so different had he decided to join United instead. Speaking to FourFourTwo, he said: "I had many clubs interested in taking me back to England [in 2001].
"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."
Then, in an interview with pokerfirma.com, Petit added: "Alex Ferguson called me when I was at Barcelona. And I saw Claudio Ranieri. He came to my house to have lunch.
"And we had a very nice talk together for a couple of hours. I had the choice to join different clubs back in the Premier League and I decided to go back to London and to Chelsea.
"In the end, it was very simple for me to make that decision..."
While Petit helped Chelsea reach the FA Cup final in 2002, both United and Arsenal lifted numerous trophies in the years that followed his arrival at Stamford Bridge.
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Chelsea flag prior the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Leg One match between Chelsea FC and Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge. (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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