Petit reportedly spent hours searching after deciding to move his most valuable memorabilia into secure storage. He had already placed his World Cup and European trophies in a bank safe after being told they could be worth between £1m and £2m on the memorabilia market.
The missing collection is believed to include medals from domestic and international competitions, including:
Petit said he had given many items to charity, but retained several important pieces from his playing days. Moving home repeatedly over the past five or six years appears to have made the search even more difficult.
The missing World Cup medal carries extraordinary significance. Petit was part of the France team that won the country’s first World Cup on home soil in 1998, defeating Brazil in a celebrated final at the Stade de France.
While Zinedine Zidane dominated the headlines with two goals, Petit supplied the final moment of the tournament, scoring France’s third goal in a 3-0 victory. His role in that triumph made the medal far more than a valuable object: it was a personal link to one of the defining nights in French football.
His honours also reflect a career spent at the highest level, with success in both England and France.
The next storyline will be whether Petit can finally recover the missing medals - and whether the search reveals a forgotten piece of one of football’s most decorated careers.