Former Gunner, Emmanuel Petit, claims that Barcelona tried to blackmail him when he wanted to sign for Chelsea in 2001.

According to Manu in a recent interview, Barca wanted to take back all of the former Arsenal midfielder’s bonuses outlined on his contract when he decided to sign for Chelsea a year after joining the La Liga club.

They allegedly attempted to blackmail him when he refused but his agent advised him to threaten to take them to court and obviously they dropped it.

This is the final incident in a succession of strange happenings that allegedly took place from when Manu first signed for Barca from Arsenal for £7m in 2000, to when he left a year later.

Full translated quotes [credit: reddit] pic.twitter.com/cyjDPrusXz

— Arsènic™ (@MrArsenicTM) August 25, 2017

Manu only made 23 league appearances for Barca during the one year he was there, scoring just once. He was moved back into defence and suffered from several injuries.

It’s a crazy story and you do have wonder whether the Frenchman will suffer any consequences, since accusing such a big club of blackmail is pretty strong.

It does, however, demonstrate how bizarre the way Barca deals with business is, especially as Manu claims the Neymar situation reminds him of his ordeal.