Eric Cantona

Who is Eric Cantona?

Éric Daniel Pierre Cantona is a French actor and former international footballer for the French national team. He played for Auxerre, Martigues, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nîmes and Leeds United before ending his professional footballing career at Manchester United, where he won four Premier League titles in five years and two League and FA Cup Doubles.

Cantona is often regarded as having played a key role in the revival of Manchester United as a footballing force in the 1990s and he enjoys iconic status at the club. He wore the number 7 shirt at United, which was previously worn by George Best and Bryan Robson, and subsequently worn by David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo. Cantona is affectionately nicknamed by Manchester United fans as "King Eric", and was voted as Manchester United's greatest ever player by Inside United magazine. Set against his footballing achievements was a poor disciplinary record for much of his career, including a conviction for assault on a fan in 1995, although his disciplinary record was much improved after he returned from his eight-month suspension right up to his retirement as a player two years later.

Following his retirement from football in 1997, he took up a career in cinema and had a role in the 1998 film Elizabeth, starring Cate Blanchett, the 2008 film French Film, and the 2009 film Looking for Eric.