Emmanuel Petit is best remembered as a star for both Arsenal and Chelsea during his illustrious playing career, but the Frenchman has revealed he could have played for another Premier League club.
In 2001, the midfielder was looking to leave Barcelona and return to play in England. Petit eventually signed for Chelsea, but his career nearly took a different route.
Speaking to BetMGM, the World Cup winner said that he had discussions to join Manchester United before deciding to move to Stamford Bridge.
“Before I joined Chelsea, Sir Alex Ferguson called me twice as he knew I wasn’t happy at Barcelona and we spoke at length about the project,” Petit said.
“Arsene Wenger also called me to ask what the situation was but Claudio [Rainieri] came in person to meet me. We had lunch together and he was so nice. He really convinced me that Chelsea was the right move and so I moved there.
“Ferguson called me twice — one of which was a couple of weeks after I arrived — but I said I had made my mind up.”
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