Alexander Hleb says he regrets leaving Arsenal for Barcelona despite going on to win the Champions League.
Hleb spent three years with the Gunners between 2005 and 2008, reaching the Champions League final with the club in 2006.
Of course, the Gunners missed out in that final at the hands of Barcelona, and that's the club Hleb went on to join in 2008 for around €15 million.
After making that move, Hleb went on to win the treble in his first season with Barcelona one of the greatest teams in football history during that season, winning the Champions League, La Liga and Copa Del Rey.
Hleb, however, was limited in his involvement and made just 19 league appearances for the Catalan club during his four years at Camp Nou, completing three loan spells during that time.
And looking back, Hleb, even after being part of that historic Barca side in his first season at the club, knows he made the wrong choice to leave Arsenal.
"Many years later and I still think about it," Hleb said on Arsenal's In Lockdown podcast. "I don't understand. To this day I still don't understand what happened or why I made the decision.
"Of course, Barcelona in that moment was the best team in the world but I was really happy at Arsenal at the time. I had friends, I enjoyed the coach, I was playing for one of the best teams, the fans, the stadium, everything! The fantastic championship, the Premier League, everything!
"Why I left, I don't understand. Barca, of course, were the best team at the time and everybody wants something to try but really I was 100 per cent happy at Arsenal.
"I cried when I talked to Arsene [Wenger]. We talked in the holiday before I left and he told me he wanted to keep me and I was important. I cried. I didn't know what to do in that moment.
"Of course, Barca is a fantastic team. I won titles and everything but I didn't play as much as I did at Arsenal. This is only my mistake because at the time, a lot of things happened in my private life. I started very nervously [at Barcelona]. Always aggressive. It was only my mistake.
"This is not a situation where Guardiola didn't trust me or something like that. No, this is only my mistake. At Arsenal I was happy, you know? When you're happy in the team, you need to stay.
“Of course [I still think about my career]. When you're young you think you have so many years but it's really like one moment. It's really quick. My children now ask me about [my career] and you explain your emotions and it's nice, it's very nice.”
