Newcastle United midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa admits he regrets the tension among his former France U17 teammates.

Ben Arfa, Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri and PSG's Jeremy Menez were regarded as a golden generation.

"Between us, there is a lot of pretense and insincerity. We became very 'political'. It's a shame. We should have a good discussion to remove it all and calm all tensions. We must put egos aside before everything ends in a big mess," Ben Arfa told France Football.