The London Times has an interview with former Manchester United striker Eric Cantona, one of the game’s all-time great players who never had a chance to shine on the international stage. Cantona is a curious figure; he talks like a philosopher of uncompromising conviction, but there can be no denying his artistry on the field: in five seasons with Manchester United, the Frenchman led Sir Alex Ferguson’s men to four Premier League titles-the only blight on his record was 1994-95, when he was banned for six months after kicking a Crystal Palace fan.
Does he miss the game? “It happens, yes,” Cantona says. “Nostalgia can be a pleasant feeling,” particularly the ambiance at Old Trafford, but “we must not talk about that forever,” he says. “There are other things in life.” Indeed, after the 1996-97 season, a campaign in which he led David Beckham, Paul Scholes and United’s other “kids” to a second successive EPL title, Cantona retired. “I had had enough,” he said, “I did not have the flame any more. Football was my life, my childhood passion. When the flame disappears, why continue?” He was 31.
With the 1998 World Cup looming, Cantona admits his exclusion from the French national team (for insulting several officials) was one of the reasons the flame disappeared. Another was the relentless packaging of Manchester United — and himself — as a product. “To avoid my image and name being used all over the place, I signed precise contracts with the club,” Cantona says. “I gave them the exclusivity on my pictures. However, [the club’s executives] did not respect it. I told them: beware, things are happening.” He was sick of being turned into a product by all the publicity and press, so he quit, and sued United for breach of contract in the process. And he won.