Eric Cantona

Early life

Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona was born in Marseille on 24 May 1966, the son of dressmaker Éléonore Raurich, and nurse and painter Albert Cantona. His mother was Spanish and came from Barcelona, while his paternal grandfather was Italian and had emigrated to Marseille from Ozieri in Sardinia. While fighting the armies of General Franco in the Spanish Civil War in 1938, Cantona's maternal grandfather, Pere Raurich, suffered a serious injury to his liver and had to retreat to France for medical treatment with his wife. They stayed in Saint-Priest, Ardèche, before settling in Marseille.

Club career

Early career

Cantona began his football career with SO Caillolais, his local team and one that had produced such talent as Roger Jouve and had players such as Jean Tigana and Christophe Galtier within its ranks. Originally, Cantona began to follow in his father's footsteps and often played as a goalkeeper, but his creative instincts began to take over and he would play up front more and more often. In his time with SO Caillolais, Cantona played in more than 200 matches.

Auxerre

Cantona's first professional club was Auxerre, where he spent two years in the youth team before making his debut on 5 November 1983, in a 4–0 league victory over Nancy. In 1984 his footballing career was put on hold as he carried out his national service. On 14 May 1985, Cantona scored his first goal for Auxerre, scoring an open goal to put his team 2–0 up against Rouen in an important match to put pressure on Monaco. On the final matchday of the season, Auxerre played Strasbourg, with Auxerre needing one point to secure qualification for the following season's UEFA Cup. Trailing 1–0 at half-time, Cantona scored the equalising goal from 25 yards out and showed his talent to a wider audience for the first time. After his discharge he was loaned out to Martigues in the French Second Division before rejoining Auxerre and signing a professional contract in 1986. His performances in the First Division earned him his first full international cap.

The following year, Cantona was again in trouble because of a dangerous kung-fu tackle on Nantes player Michel Der Zakarian, resulting in a three-month suspension, this was later reduced to a two-month suspension as his club Auxerre threatened to make the player unavailable for selection in the national team. He was part of the France under-21 side that won the 1988 U21 European Championship, scoring a hat-trick in a quarter-final against the England under-21 side, and shortly after he transferred to Marseille for a French record fee (FF22m). Cantona had grown up as a Marseille fan.

Marseille

In January 1989 during a friendly game against Torpedo Moscow he kicked the ball at the crowd, then ripped off and threw away his shirt after being substituted. His club responded by banning him for a month. Just a few months earlier, he had been banned from international matches for one year after insulting the national coach Henri Michel on TV.

Having struggled to settle at Marseille, Cantona moved to Bordeaux on a six-month loan and then to Montpellier on a year-long loan. At Montpellier, he was involved in a fight with team-mate Jean-Claude Lemoult and threw his boots in Lemoult's face. The incident led to six players demanding that Cantona be sacked, but with the support of team-mates such as Laurent Blanc and Carlos Valderrama, the club retained his services, although they banned him from the ground for ten days. Cantona was instrumental as the team went on to win the French Cup and his form persuaded Marseille to take him back.

Back at Marseille, Cantona initially played well under coach Gerard Gili and his successor Franz Beckenbauer. However, the Marseille chairman Bernard Tapie was not satisfied with the results and replaced Beckenbauer with Raymond Goethals; Cantona was continually at odds with Goethals and Tapie and, despite helping the team win the French Division 1 title, he was transferred to Nîmes the following season, for a fee of ten million francs, signing a three-year contract.

In December 1991, during a match for Nîmes, he threw the ball at the referee, having been angered by one of his decisions. He was summoned to a disciplinary hearing by the French Football Federation and was banned for one month. Cantona responded by walking up to members of the hearing committee in turn and calling each of them an "idiot". His ban was increased to two months and Cantona subsequently announced his retirement from football on 16 December 1991. The France national team coach, Michel Platini, was a fan of Cantona and persuaded him to make a comeback. On the advice of Gérard Houllier, as well as his psychoanalyst, he moved to England to restart his career: "He [my psychoanalyst] advised me not to sign for Marseille and recommended that I should go to England."

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 Frenchman 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. After being turned down by Liverpool, Cantona was given a trial at Sheffield Wednesday when Wednesday manager Trevor Francis was approached by Platini and Francis' former agent, Dennis Roach. In a 2012 interview, Francis explained that he had agreed to take Cantona on as a favour to Roach and Platini, who he knew from his time playing in Italy, and that it was intended as an opportunity for Cantona to put himself in the "shop window": Wednesday had only recently been promoted back to the top flight, with most of the squad still being on Second Division-level wages, and the club could not afford to sign him. Cantona spent two days with Wednesday, training and playing in an indoor tournament at the Sheffield Arena.

Leeds United

Cantona's arrival at Leeds United was announced in January 1992. Leeds would pay £100,000 to Nîmes to take him on loan until 15 April, after which they would have to pay another £900,000 to sign him permanently. Cantona made his debut for Leeds in a 2–0 loss at Oldham Athletic on 8 February 1992. At Leeds, he was part of the team that won the final Football League First Division title before it was replaced by the Premier League as the top division in English football. He made 15 appearances, and despite only scoring three goals, he contributed to their title success, primarily with assists for leading goalscorer Lee Chapman. Cantona scored his first goal for Leeds in a 2–0 win at home to Luton Town on 29 February and set up the other goal for Chapman. Having played little football in the six weeks before signing for Leeds, Cantona struggled to find a place in an established line-up, with manager Howard Wilkinson preferring to put him on against tiring defences. Against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on 7 March, Cantona came off the bench to set up a goal for Gary McAllister, securing a win that moved Leeds two points ahead of Manchester United, who had a game in hand, in the title race. Cantona was deployed as a part of a front three, along with Chapman and Rod Wallace, in a 5–1 thrashing of Wimbledon at Elland Road on 14 March, scoring Leeds' fourth goal of the game.

Leeds' title ambitions survived the difficult tests of Arsenal at Highbury (a 1–1 draw with Cantona denied a late winner by David Seaman) and West Ham (a 0–0 draw with Cantona being denied a first-half goal through a dubious offside decision); however, they lost 4–0 to Manchester City on 4 April at Maine Road, allowing Manchester United to take pole position in the title race again. Against Chelsea on 11 April, Cantona came on for Wallace with 20 minutes to go and Leeds leading 1–0; he then set up Chapman's 20th goal of the season before rounding off the scoring with a lob over Chelsea defender Paul Elliott. Two days later, Wilkinson announced that Leeds intended to complete Cantona's transfer from Nîmes for £900,000. Cantona was paid a generous £7,000 a week, a huge cost in an era without television or European football revenue. Starting with that Chelsea match, Leeds went unbeaten in their final five games, securing the league title on the penultimate weekend with a 3–2 win over Sheffield United after Manchester United had lost to Liverpool.

In the 1992 FA Charity Shield that August, with Leeds missing several key players, Cantona scored a hat-trick in a 4–3 victory over Liverpool, the first hat-trick in the Charity Shield since Tommy Taylor in 1957. Cantona's hat-trick places him among the small group of players to have scored three or more goals in games at Wembley. Leeds started their title defence with a 2–1 win over Wimbledon on 15 August; Cantona started alongside Chapman up front, but had a quiet game, although he did pick up his first yellow card in English football, after 17 games. After Cantona scored his first league goal of the season in a 4–1 defeat at Middlesbrough, he followed it up with another hat-trick, the first in the newly created Premier League in a 5–0 win over Tottenham on 25 August. Cantona then flew to Paris to join the France national team for a friendly against Brazil on the very same day, due to newly installed manager Gérard Houllier's desire to have the whole squad present for his first match.

Manchester United

The news of Cantona's impending transfer from Leeds to fierce rivals Manchester United was met with hostility from Leeds fans. The transfer was, however, seen as a good piece of business by most football pundits, removing a turbulent player from the team.

Cantona left Leeds for Manchester United for £1 million on 26 November 1992. Leeds chairman Bill Fotherby had telephoned Manchester United chairman Martin Edwards to enquire about the availability of Denis Irwin. Edwards was in a meeting with manager Alex Ferguson at the time and both agreed that Irwin was not for sale. Ferguson had identified that his team was in need of a striker, having failed to secure the services of Alan Shearer that summer, and after new signing Dion Dublin was injured a few games into the season, had failed in his attempts to sign David Hirst, Matt Le Tissier and Brian Deane. Ferguson instructed his chairman to ask whether Cantona was for sale. Fotherby had to consult with Wilkinson, but within a few days the deal was complete.

Cantona had arrived too late to register to play in United's 1–0 win at Arsenal on 28 November, but was in the crowd at Highbury as his new team secured a vital win. He made his first appearance for the club on 1 December 1992 in a friendly match against Benfica in Lisbon to mark Eusébio's 50th birthday, wearing the number 10 shirt. He made his competitive debut as a second-half substitute against Manchester City at Old Trafford on 6 December. United won 2–1, though Cantona made little impact that day.

United's season had been disappointing up to Cantona's signing. A shortage of goals and a recent seven-match winless run had seen United fall behind the likes of big-spending Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers in the race for the first Premier League title, as well as surprise challengers including Norwich City and Queens Park Rangers.

Goalscoring had been a problem since the halfway point of the previous season – when it had cost them the league title as they suffered defeats or were held to draws against teams they had been expected to beat. Ferguson had first tried to sign Alan Shearer from Southampton during the 1992 close season, but lost out to Blackburn Rovers. He then spent £1 million on Dion Dublin, who suffered a broken leg a few games into the season and was out of action for six months. A £3 million bid for Sheffield Wednesday striker David Hirst was turned down and, by 7 November, United were tenth in the Premier League.

After leaving

In 1998, the Football League, as part of its centenary season celebrations, included Cantona on its list of 100 League Legends. Cantona's achievements in the English League were further marked in 2002 when he was made an inaugural inductee of the English Football Hall of Fame. Later in 1998, Cantona organised a match of Manchester United players against other players from around the world in what was originally designed to be a memorial for the victims of the Munich air disaster in 1958 and their families, but which was merged with a testimonial for Cantona himself.

In his 1999 autobiography Managing My Life, Alex Ferguson claimed that Cantona had informed him of his decision to retire from playing within 24 hours of Manchester United's Champions League semi-final defeat to Borussia Dortmund, though the decision was not made public for almost a month afterwards. During that time, there had been speculation about his future at Manchester United, including talk of a move to Real Zaragoza of Spain. Returning to Britain in 2003 to pick up the Overseas Player of the Decade Award at the Premier League 10 Seasons Awards, Cantona said of his premature retirement: "When you quit football it is not easy, your life becomes difficult. I should know because sometimes I feel I quit too young. I loved the game but I no longer had the passion to go to bed early, not to go out with my friends, not to drink, and not to do a lot of other things, the things I like in life." In 2004, Cantona was quoted as saying: "I'm so proud the fans still sing my name, but I fear tomorrow they will stop. I fear it because I love it. And everything you love, you fear you will lose."

He was interviewed in a "Number 7s" issue of Manchester United's official magazine, United, in August 2006, stating he would only return to United as 'Number 1' (meaning not return as assistant manager or coach) and would create a team like no other and play the way he thinks football should be played; however, Cantona opposed the ownership of Manchester United by the Glazer family and stated that he would not return to the club, even as a manager, while they were in charge.

In March 2014, Cantona was arrested and cautioned for an act of common assault on Regent's Park Road in Camden, North London. The victim did not require medical attention.

Cantona received the UEFA President's Award in August 2019. Dressed in a flat cap, he began by quoting William Shakespeare's King Lear – "As flies to wanton boys we are for the gods" – before referencing science, war and crime. Similar to the response to his "seagulls" press conference in 1995, the puzzled audience watched in silence.

International career

Cantona was given his full international debut against West Germany in August 1987 by national team manager Henri Michel. In September 1988, angered after being dropped from the national team, Cantona referred to Michel as a "bag of shit" in a post-match TV interview and was indefinitely banned from all international matches. However, Michel was sacked shortly after that, having failed to qualify for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. The new coach was Michel Platini and one of his first acts was to recall Cantona. Platini stated that, whilst he was coach, Cantona would be selected for France as long as he was playing competitive top-class football; it was also Platini who had initiated Cantona's move to England to restart his career. France qualified for UEFA Euro 1992 held in Sweden, but failed to win a single game despite the strike partnership of Cantona and Jean-Pierre Papin. Platini resigned after the finals to be replaced by Gérard Houllier.

Under Houllier, France failed to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States after losing their final qualifying game 2–1 at home to Bulgaria, when a draw would have sufficed. Houllier resigned and Aimé Jacquet took over. Jacquet began to rebuild the national team in preparation for Euro 96 and appointed Cantona as captain. Cantona remained captain until the Selhurst Park incident in January 1995 that led to his ban and captaincy being stripped. In addition, he lost his place to Zinedine Zidane, as Jacquet had revamped the squad with new players. Cantona, Papin and David Ginola lost their places in the squad and were never selected for the French team again, thus missing Euro 96.

Though there was media criticism about Cantona's omission, as he was playing his best football in the Premier League, Jacquet stated that the team had done well without Cantona and that he wanted to keep faith with the players who had taken them so far. In a 2015 interview with French radio network France Info, Cantona stated that, had he still been involved with the national side, he would have extended his career to feature in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, held in Cantona's home nation. Cantona still harbours resentment for the people at the head of his national team, but also admiration for his adopted football country; at UEFA Euro 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he supported England and not France.

Post-playing career

Acting career

Cantona focused his later career mostly as an actor in French cinema, having had his first role as a rugby player in Le bonheur est dans le pré, shot during his 1995 suspension from football. In the late 1990s, he accepted a role as a French ambassador in the English film Elizabeth (1998). In 2002, he directed a short film, Apporte-moi ton amour. He guest-starred as a mysterious barroom philosopher in independent British film Jack Says, released to DVD in September 2008. He co-starred as director Thierry Grimandi in French Film (2009), and was co-producer and a lead actor in Ken Loach's Palme d'Or-nominated film Looking for Eric (2009). He stars as The Corsican in the Danish western The Salvation, which premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2014.

In January 2020, Cantona played The King in the music video for Liam Gallagher's single "Once". He subsequently returned to feature films, starring in the action thrillers AKA (2023) and The Killer (2024). In 2026, he made a double appearance at the Cannes Film Festival, starring as a wine merchant in the comedy film Marvellous Mornings and featuring as the subject of the biographical documentary film Cantona.

Cantona has frequently appeared in commercials for the sportswear company Nike. In 1994, he was involved in a Nike advertising campaign which featured a black and white image of himself in front of the English flag, with the caption: "'66 was a great year for English football. Eric was born." In 1996, he was the central figure in a Nike commercial titled "Good vs Evil" in a gladiatorial game set in a Roman amphitheatre. Appearing alongside football players from around the world, including Ronaldo, Paolo Maldini, Luís Figo, Patrick Kluivert and Jorge Campos, they defend "the beautiful game" against a team of demonic warriors, which ends with Cantona receiving the ball from Ronaldo, pulling up his shirt collar in his trademark style, and delivering the final line, "Au Revoir", before striking the ball which punches right through the demon goalkeeper.

Since his retirement from professional football in 1997, Cantona has continued to appear in Nike commercials, often in a non-playing role. In 1997, he starred in Nike's "Park Life" commercial, set to the song "Parklife" by Blur, in which a group of pub league players playing amateur football at Hackney Marshes in east London are suddenly joined by top Premier League footballers, including Cantona, Ian Wright, David Seaman and Robbie Fowler. In 2000, "Park Life" was ranked number 15 in Channel 4's poll of the 100 Greatest TV Ads.

Beach soccer

Shortly after his departure from Manchester United in 1997, Cantona became captain of the France national beach soccer team, gaining an interest in the sport through his brother Joel who was already a part of the France national side travelling the world to play matches. Cantona continued his interest in beach soccer games in southern Asia and at the Inaugural Kronenbourg Beach Soccer Cup in 2002, in Brighton, England.

As a recognisable figure, Cantona was key to beach soccer's growth during the sports early years, being a magnet for drawing in fans to beach soccer events, and also helping to promote the sport, saying in 2002, "Physically it is difficult, technically it is difficult, and tactically it's difficult too. We must work very hard, and train regularly together. Beach Soccer has got everything needed to be a great sport."

He found considerable success as he managed and played in the French team which won their first European title at the 2004 Euro Beach Soccer League. At the inaugural FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Rio de Janeiro in 2005, he was player-manager of the team and scored one goal in a 7–4 win against Spain. France ended up winning the tournament. This was Cantona's final year as a player. However, he continued to coach the France national team at the 2006 Beach Soccer World Cup, which finished third. In 2007, Cantona enjoyed another successful year as manager, taking France to fourth place in the World Cup and narrowly missing out on a second European title, finishing runners-up to Portugal after a 7–6 loss in the final of the 2007 Euro Beach Soccer League. The World Cup was held in France for the first time in 2008; however, Cantona was unable to make the top four after losing to Italy in the quarter-finals.

After failing, as manager, to qualify France to the World Cup for the first time in 2009, Cantona's demise as head coach was sealed in 2010 as not only did France fail to qualify for the upcoming World Cup again, but Cantona also lead the national team to relegation from the top division of the Euro Beach Soccer League down to Division B. These series of disappointments lead to Cantona resigning as manager of France in 2011, after almost 15 years involved in the team. In 2019, the magazine France Football placed Cantona fourth in an article named "10 Legends of Beach Soccer".

Brief stint with New York Cosmos

New York Cosmos announced the Frenchman's return to football as their Director of Soccer on 18 January 2011. On arrival, Cantona described his role to the press as to help Cosmos "regain the number one position in the United States and then ... to become one of the best clubs in the world over the coming years." Cantona was later fired by the club after a confrontation with a photographer, and in May 2015, he sued the Cosmos for nearly $1 million in back pay and a promised 4% equity share. Cosmos rejected his claims, insisting that his role as Director of Soccer was largely ceremonial and that Cantona's true job was as "a promoter and brand ambassador". The two parties later agreed to dismiss the lawsuit, though terms of a settlement were not disclosed.

Style of play

He was renowned for his vision, passing, intelligence and playmaking skills, in addition to his eye for goal and powerful and accurate striking ability, which often saw him score from spectacular strikes and volleys. As such, he often played in a free, creative role between the midfield and forward lines throughout his career, acting as a deep-lying forward behind the main striker, due to his tendency to drop deep into midfield to retrieve the ball and orchestrate attacking plays, as well as his ability both to score goals and provide assists for team-mates. However, Cantona was also capable of playing as a centre-forward, due to his ability to hold-up the ball with his back to goal, although this was not his favoured position, as an out–and–out striker, as an attacking midfielder, or even as a central midfielder on occasion. He was also an accurate penalty and free kick taker.

Due to his height, physique, positional sense and heading accuracy, he was strong in the air. He was known for being both mentally and physically tough, and was highly regarded for his strong, commanding and charismatic personality, as well as his leadership qualities and bravery, which helped to alleviate pressure from his team-mates. Cantona was known for turning up his collar during matches. Wayne Barton noted that he first wore his collar up in a Manchester derby match on 7 November 1993, following United's elimination from Europe at the hands of Galatasary, commenting: "One wonders if, in his own superstitious way, this was Cantona's way of calming that fire inside him after the trip to Turkey, a way to focus his thoughts on moving forward." When asked about the reason behind his famous on-field appearance, he commented: "I didn't plan it. During one game it was cold and my collar just stayed up. We won, so it became a habit to play with my collar up."

Cantona was a hard-working player, who also stood out for his defensive contribution off the ball, as well as his ability to start attacking plays after winning back possession. He also drew praise in the media for his discipline and dedication in training. Despite his talent and ability, he was also notorious for his aggression, confrontational behaviour, volatile temper and lack of discipline on the pitch, as well as his tendency to commit hard challenges, which made him a highly controversial figure in world football. While was known for being outspoken on a number of issues, he was also accused in the media of being arrogant. When he was asked whether Zidane or Platini was the greatest French player of all time, for example, he said: "No, it is me." He drew criticism from certain pundits for being inconsistent at times, for his disappointing performances at international level and in European club competitions, as well as his lack of significant speed, which was particularly evident in his later career with his advancing age.

Political views

Cantona called for a social revolution against the banks and encouraged customers of the major retail banks to withdraw their money on 7 December 2010 in protest at the 2008 financial crisis. This proposal became the basis of an online campaign calling for a bank run.

In January 2012, Cantona began trying to gather the 500 signatures from elected officials necessary for a bid for the French presidential election that year, in order to draw support for the homeless charity and campaign group Emmaus.

Palestine

In June 2012, he signed a petition for the release of Palestinian footballer Mahmoud Sarsak, imprisoned without conviction by Israel in July 2009 and released on 10 July 2012. In September 2025, Cantona made an appearance at the Together For Palestine charity fundraising event where he called for Israel to be suspended by FIFA and UEFA and urged clubs to refuse to play against teams from Israel. He signed an open pledge with Film Workers for Palestine pledging not to work with Israeli film institutions "that are implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people".

Personal life

Cantona married Isabelle Ferrer in 1987. They have two children together. They divorced in 2003. He married actress Rachida Brakni in 2007. They have two children together.

Cantona's brother, Joël, is a former footballer who retired at a young age and went into acting as well. His cousin, Sacha Opinel, is also a footballer.

Career statistics

International

Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Cantona goal.

Honours

Auxerre

Cup of the Alps: 1986–87

Marseille

Division 1: 1988–89, 1990–91

Montpellier

Coupe de France: 1989–90

Leeds United

Football League First Division: 1991–92

FA Charity Shield: 1992

Manchester United

Premier League: 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97

FA Cup: 1993–94, 1995–96

FA Charity Shield: 1993, 1994, 1996

France U21

UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 1988

France

Kirin Cup: 1994

France Beach

Euro Beach Soccer League: 2004

FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup: 2005

Individual

Division 1 Rookie of the Year: 1987

Most assists in the Premier League: 1992–93, 1996–97

Ballon d'Or third place: 1993

BBC Sport Goal of the Month: February 1994, December 1996

Filmography

Documentaries

Les rebelles du foot (2012)

Looking for Istanbul (2012)

Foot et immigration, 100 ans d'histoire commune (2014)

Looking for Rio (2014)

Looking for Athènes (2013)

The Stone Roses: Made of Stone (2013)

Manchester United: The Official History 1878–2002 (2002)

Stage

Face au paradis (English title: Faced with Paradise) – 2010 (stage production directed by Rachida Brakni)

Discography

Albums

Cantona Sings Eric: First Tour Ever (2024), Barclay/Universal

Perfect Imperfection (2026), Barclay/Universal

Singles and EPs

I'll Make My Own Heaven (2023), Barclay/Universal

"I Love You So Much" (2024), Barclay/Universal