Arsenal icon had chance to join Man Utd but snubbed Ferguson because of his wife

02 December 2023 , 12:20

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Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit (Image: Popperfoto via Getty Images)

Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit rejected the chance to join Manchester United in 2001 and ended up signing for Chelsea instead - because of his wife.

Petit spent three seasons at Arsenal, most notably helping the Gunners win the double in his debut campaign. He was then sold to Barcelona along with teammate Marc Overmars in 2000, but lasted just one season in Spain.

He was largely played out of position and has previously spoken of a dressing room divide that prompted him to push for a move away. And when Barcelona agreed to let him go, Petit had several Premier League sides interested in signing him.

Arsenal were keen on bringing him back, but Petit was not interested due to the circumstances of his departure a year earlier. United were also in the running and manager Sir Alex Ferguson twice called Petit to try and persuade him to sign.

And the only reason the World Cup winner ended up at Stamford Bridge instead of Old Trafford is because his wife at the time, actress Agathe de la Fontaine, wanted to live in London instead of Manchester.

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Despite spending the remainder of his career at Chelsea, Petit says he regrets the move and believes he "should have gone to Manchester United" instead. Speaking to FourFourTwo earlier this year, he admitted: "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'.

Petit's wife Agathe De la Fontaine persuaded him to snub Manchester United and join Chesea instead (agathedelafontaineofficiel/Instagram)

"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."

Petit ended up spending three years at Chelsea before being forced to retire due to a knee injury. During that time, the Blues failed to win a single trophy while United won a Premier League title and an FA Cup and Arsenal won two Premier Leagues and two FA Cups.

Matthew Cooper