'I played for Arsene Wenger and Pep Guardiola - I have huge regret with one of them'

A three-time Premier League champion who has played under both Pep Guardiola and Arsene Wenger has revealed his one big regret during his time with the two legendary managers. Gael Clichy was a member of Arsenal's iconic "Invincibles" team that remained undefeated throughout their 2003-04 title-winning campaign with Wenger in charge.

The French defender later transferred to Manchester City in 2011 and clinched two more Premier League crowns. Clichy experienced Guardiola's detailed coaching approach during his last season at the Etihad in 2016-17. He's now spoken out about why he wishes he spent more time working under him.

The 40-year-old, who is eyeing a managerial career himself, lauded the Catalan for elevating City to unprecedented levels. Speaking to ex-Manchester United and Wrexham goalkeeper Ben Foster, he also disclosed how he counts himself fortunate to have been coached by him - but regrets he couldn't play under the Spaniard for longer.

"I've been lucky, because I love the game so much, to have met Pep in my last year at City," Clichy said on the Fozcast podcast. "I never really considered being a coach, even though I always had a good relationship with young players, but seeing him working...I said to myself, 'if being a coach is like this, then I want to try.'".

"I feel that this one year of working under Pep was not enough, because I would have loved to have met him before. He could have made me a better player. We will never know but at the same time, I'm glad he didn't because then it triggered my curiosity [in coaching]."

After leaving City in 2017, Clichy moved to play for Istanbul Basaksehir in Turkey and later to Swiss club Servette before hanging up his boots in 2023. His passion for football has led him into a coaching career, having spent two years as an assistant with France's Under-21s, and he's now set his sights on leading a team as a head coach.

Despite hailing Guardiola's influence on that decision, he feels it was actually Wenger who made a bigger mark on the game in England when he arrived in 1996.

"Arsene changed the game when he arrived, with a vision that nobody had in England," he said. "Also Arsene had a club with history. I'm not saying City didn't have history, but really in the last ten or 12 years, he [Pep] has given City a glow up.

"Now, it's one of the clubs that everybody wants to join, but it's always easier to come into a club that needs everything to be written. When Arsene arrived, he had players that had already won something.

"It's very similar but at the same time, very different. Pep is not the one [who had the biggest impact], because the one is Arsene, and it will always be Arsene. He's the one that gave me my chance."

Clichy recently disclosed that he has already been approached by clubs in Europe and the United States with managerial offers after quitting his role with France. However, his aim is to finish his UEFA Pro Licence with the Football Association of Wales in December before taking on such a role.