Gareth Messenger

Eric Cantona’s journey in England began in quite unusual circumstances. On 6 November 1991, after Liverpool’s 3–0 victory over Auxerre in a UEFA Cup second round, second leg tie at Anfield, Liverpool manager Graeme Souness was met by Michel Platini at the end of the game, who told him that Cantona was available for sale to Liverpool.

Souness thanked Platini, but declined the offer, citing dressing room harmony as his reason. Cantona was given a trial at Sheffield Wednesday when manager Trevor Francis was approached by Platini. However, the club was not able to afford his wages having just returned to the top-flight, and after two days, Cantona was gone. 

But the interest in the country did not end there. Cantona's arrival at Leeds United was announced in January 1992. The initial move was a loan with Leeds paying French club Nimes a fee of £100,000, after which they would have to pay another £900,000 to sign him permanently. 

Cantona helped Leeds win the First Division Title in 1992, scoring three crucial goals in the final weeks of the season. It meant the side from Elland Road would play the 1992 FA Charity Shield, a game which Cantona scored a hat-trick in a 4-3 win over Liverpool.

Cantona eventually went on to play 35 times for Leeds, scoring 14 goals in all competitions. Despite winning the final old First Division title in 1991-92, he was not the driving force behind that triumph. A local Yorkshire newspaper described his contribution as that of "a handy impactful substitute".

When United paid £1.2million to sign him in 1992, Cantona's career was approaching breaking point. In France, controversy had followed him from the youth academy to the national team, culminating in him retiring angrily (and prematurely) after he was banned for throwing the ball at a referee while playing for Nimes. 

Alex Ferguson saw differently. He proposed a deal for Cantona when Leeds managing director Bill Fotherby called United chairman Martin Edwards to enquire about Dennis Irwin.

United had no interest in parting with Irwin and were merely testing the turbulent waters around Cantona. It fully expected to be met with the same sort of rebuttal it gave to Leeds. It came as a shock when manager Howard Wilkinson agreed to let them talk. 

Cantona completed his move on 26 November 1992 and made his debut as a half-time substitute against Manchester City at Old Trafford 10 days later. History tells us it was a Fergie masterstroke but, at the time, it reeked of desperation.

United was eighth in the table when Cantona arrived and desperate for goals.  Dion Dublin was injured and pursuits of the likes of David Hirst had failed. Ferguson had yet to deliver a league title since arriving from Aberdeen in 1986 and United fans were losing patience. 

Cantona arrived at Old Trafford with an exceptional pedigree and a mixed reputation. Wherever he meant Cantona left a trail of destruction, and his new United teammates were conscious that he was an animal who could not be tamed.

The Frenchman waltzed into The Cliff, United's old training ground, and had team-mates in his thrall with barely a word. In his first season, which happened to be the first of the Premier League era, he masterminded the philosophy of what would become the identity of United for two decades: attacking football, aggression, and a relentless insistence on winning.

Ferguson gave Cantona the freedom to dictate a football match, to have it played as he saw fit. Because of that, he dragged United from the bottomless pit to a title triumph in his first season and another three league wins and two FA Cups followed in four years.

Cantona scored winning goals in two FA Cup finals, famously netting the winner against Liverpool in 1996. He got United four 1-0 wins in the double run-in in 1996.

He scored eight goals in seven Manchester derbies, never finishing on the losing side. Then there are the less important but still unforgettable moments of genius, the most high-profile THAT chip against Sunderland followed by THAT celebration – collar up, chest out, daring the crowd not to stand and applaud. He wasn't just the man for the big occasion; he WAS the occasion.

But like many of the greats, Cantona’s trail of destruction lied in wait. His teammates said when he joined, he felt like an animal who could not be tamed, and on 25 January 1995 that came to fruition. 
 

In an away match against Crystal Palace, Cantona was sent off by the referee for kicking Palace defender Richard Shaw. As he was walking towards the tunnel, Cantona launched a 'kung-fu' style kick into the crowd, directed at Crystal Palace fan Matthew Simmons, who had run down 11 rows of stairs to confront and shout abuse at the United striker.

Cantona followed the kick with a series of punches. It was an incident that FA Chief Executive called “a stain on our game”. Cantona was stripped of the French national team captaincy and, in fact, never played for France again. The backlash was venomous. Some critics called for Cantona to be deported and never allowed to play football in England again, while others called for him to be banned from football for life. 

As well as disciplinary action from his club and a staggering eight-month ban from The FA, Cantona was also faced with a criminal charge of assault, which he admitted to on 23 March, resulting in a two-week prison sentence, although he was freed on bail pending an appeal. This was overturned a week later and instead, he was sentenced to 120 hours of community service, which was spent coaching children at Manchester United's training ground.

A press conference was called after his appeal was overturned in which Cantona addressed the world with some memorable lines:

“When the seagulls follow the trawler, it’s because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea. Thank you very much” 

Cantona then got up and left the room to packed media room filled with journalists equally as baffled as they were humoured.

It’s not a great surprise either that the only Premier League title to allude United in Cantona’s time was in 1994-95, the season where the animal within was unable to be tamed.