Why Eric Cantona will always be an Old Trafford king (video)

Before the heady days of Cristiano Ronaldo, or even David Beckham was something more artistic, and undoubtedly more than a bit insane. That something was Eric Cantona.The number 7 shirt has always been an iconic one for Man United, and his footballing abilities lit up the league, when he wasn't embroiled in controversy. In many ways he is a pre-cursor to the likes of Luis Suarez.

Spearheading the first wave of Man United success, the import from France actually began his career in England at Leeds United in 1992. He spent less than a year there, quickly catching the eye of Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford, and a deal was done that same November for a then significant £1.2m, a profit of £300,000.

Cantona won four titles in five seasons while in Manchester; a fairly standard return given United’s dominance of the Premier League since its inception, but an impressive statistic nonetheless. For all the plaudits sent Ronaldo’s way, United only won three titles during his five year stay. As good as Ronaldo was, he tended to carry inferior teammates on his shoulders, while Cantona was just another glorious piece of a jigsaw that contained the likes of the younger Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes.

Before long, controversy caught up with the mercurial Frenchman, and his long famous karate kick of a Crystal Palace fan will go down in history, and paved the way to bring his violence to the big screens in his career as an actor.

His premature retirement at the age of 30 allowed him to focus on this career, and also his artistry. For such a short career however, he left some golden memories, and some memorable press conferences.

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