Aston Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov has revealed how close he came to joining Portsmouth.

The Bulgaria ace has been outstanding in his first season as Villa skipper.

"People say it was always going to be Aston Villa because Martin O'Neill was there but I wanted a new challenge and was actually on my way to sign for Harry Redknapp at Portsmouth when Martin called," Petrov recalled to the Sunday Times.

"I fell in love with Celtic, I am still in love with Celtic, but I'd been there for seven and a half years and the time had come for me to grow and progress."