Arsene Wenger says his love for Arsenal led to him rejecting Premier League job offers – and lifts lid on potential FIFA role
Arsene Wenger says he turned down opportunities to manage other Premier League clubs because of his love for Arsenal.
The Frenchman spent 22 years in charge of the north Londoners, winning three league titles and a record seven FA Cups before his departure in 2018.
Wenger has not held another managerial position since his departure from the Emirates Stadium, although he insists he is still open to a return to the dugout.
However, the 69-year-old has declared that he will not take charge of another English club given his connection with the Gunners.
"I'm an Arsenal man and after that I'm a professional. I can't stop working," Wenger told Sky Sports.
"I decided to move out of the Premier League because I am too linked with Arsenal. I had opportunities to work in England but I turned them down.
"I don't want to tell you [which clubs] because there are people in charge and it would unfair to them."
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Wenger also defended the job he did during more than two decades at Arsenal, even though he did not win a Premier League title in his last 14 years at the helm.
The former Monaco boss did oversee the relocation from Highbury to the Emirates, however, and he believes the club will continue to reap the rewards for years to come.
"I know it is normal that people always want more. We won a lot and we built the stadium," Wenger said.
"It's difficult to explain today the circumstances in which we built the stadium because the turnovers today have been multiplied by five.
"When we decided to build the stadium, we had a turnover of £90m and the stadium was £430m. Then the pressure is really there and I think to come out of that period in a very healthy situation was a little bit of a miracle."
Wenger also confirmed that he is considering an offer to join FIFA as the organisation’s Chief of Football Development.
The job would see the Frenchman help retired players have more of an influence on how the game is run across the world.
“[The role would involve] the development of coaching efficiency, the development of potential jobs for players after the career,” he told beIN SPORTS.
“The era has come for players to take charge of their own game. That is, for me, vital. It is healthier for our game that people who have been in it take charge of it.”
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Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).