Emmanuel Petit has opened up about the death of his brother, Olivier, who died in April 1988 during a football game with his amateur club, Arques.
The death of Olivier was a particularly poignant tragedy for former Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea midfielder, Petit, who was a mere teenager at the time, playing in the Monaco academy.
Speaking to Off The Ball, the 1998 World Cup winner said: 'I used to keep a diary. That's what I used to do because I lost my brother on the pitch. I lost my grandfather and my best friend in the space of two years when I was at the academy.
The death of Olivier was a particularly poignant tragedy for former Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea midfielder, Petit, who was a mere teenager at the time, playing in the Monaco academy.
Speaking to Off The Ball, the 1998 World Cup winner said: 'I used to keep a diary. That's what I used to do because I lost my brother on the pitch. I lost my grandfather and my best friend in the space of two years when I was at the academy.
When you are at this age, at 14 or 15 years of age and you know that you are playing for your own future, you are in a man's world but you are still a teenager, a kid,' he continued.
'You have to pretend and act like you are a man when you are confronting death or bad things. You have to take it and deal with it, it's as simple as that. I had to live at that age like a man, but I was not. It hurt me a lot in my private life as well.'
Petit - who played for nine seasons with Monaco before joining Arsene Wenger's Arsenal in 1997 - went on to explain the tragic circumstances surrounding his brother's death.
'It was just a couple of weeks before I signed a professional contract. He received a ball on the head and fell down a couple of minutes later and he died. And my other brother, he was playing on the pitch with him.
'You have to pretend and act like you are a man when you are confronting death or bad things. You have to take it and deal with it, it's as simple as that. I had to live at that age like a man, but I was not. It hurt me a lot in my private life as well.'
Petit - who played for nine seasons with Monaco before joining Arsene Wenger's Arsenal in 1997 - went on to explain the tragic circumstances surrounding his brother's death.
'It was just a couple of weeks before I signed a professional contract. He received a ball on the head and fell down a couple of minutes later and he died. And my other brother, he was playing on the pitch with him.
My brother was supposed to be married a couple of weeks after that. His girlfriend was watching the game as well.
'It was a terrible moment for my family. My parents were with me at Monaco at that time, that was the first and last time I saw my father smacking his head against the wall.'
After Olivier collapsed and was rushed to hospital, it transpired that he was pronounced dead due to a blood clot of the brain.
In his biography, Petit has explained that the event shocked him to such an extent that it almost made him quit football.
'It was a terrible moment for my family. My parents were with me at Monaco at that time, that was the first and last time I saw my father smacking his head against the wall.'
After Olivier collapsed and was rushed to hospital, it transpired that he was pronounced dead due to a blood clot of the brain.
In his biography, Petit has explained that the event shocked him to such an extent that it almost made him quit football.
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