Emmanuel Petit, former French footballer who played for F.C. Barcelona during the 2000-2001 season, has revealed the reason why he left Arsenal to sign for the Spanish team.

The French midfielder, who won the 1998 World Cup with France and scored a goal in the final against Brazil, disclosed on 'Stadium Astro' that "I left Arsenal for a woman."

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"I always liked F.C. Barcelona and Real Madrid, two of the biggest clubs in the world. But I should have stayed at Arsenal, definitely," said the player from Dieppe (France), acknowledging that leaving Arsenal in 2000 was the biggest mistake of his career.

Petit married French actress Agathe de La Fontaine in 2000, and they divorced in 2002.

"You know, sometimes the grass is not greener elsewhere. It's better to stay where you are when you receive love, happiness, and success. If I could turn back time, I would probably make a different decision," lamented Petit, who signed for Barcelona for 14 million euros in a joint deal with Marc Overmars.

Emmanuel Petit was a gamble by his compatriot Arsene Wegner, with whom he coincided at Monaco, for Arsenal.

After three seasons at Arsenal, he signed for Barcelona, where he only played for one season before moving to Chelsea, where he spent another three seasons until his retirement in 2004 due to a knee injury.

"I arrived at a bad time. There was a war in the dressing room between Catalan and Dutch players. In addition, we had Serra Ferrer as a coach, who did not have the necessary strength or charisma to handle the team," explained Petit.

In Barcelona, Petit's performance, with just one goal in 23 games, was hindered by physical problems and his lack of understanding with coach Lorenzo Serra Ferrer (in his biography, the French footballer accuses the Spanish coach of not even knowing his position on the field).