Eric Cantona was born in Marseille with his footballing career starting at his local team SO Caillolais.

He initially played as a goalkeeper but it didn’t take him long to realise that his attributes were better suited to being an outfield player.

Cantona’s performances for Caillolais attracted the attention of Auxerre and he joined their youth team in 1981.

A couple of years later, after making his way up the ranks, the forward made his senior debut during a 4-0 win against Nancy.

Cantona spent five seasons with Auxerre prior to joining Marseille in 1989, but he didn’t have the best of spells back in the city where he was born.

His indiscipline reared its ugly head in a friendly, kicking the ball into the crowd, as well as angrily throwing away his shirt after being substituted. He was quickly loaned out to Bordeaux and subsequently Montpellier.

Cantona did return to Marseille to help them win the league title but clashes with his coaches led to him being offloaded to Nimes on a permanent basis.

Cantona’s move to the Premier League

The striker had more disciplinary problems at Nimes. After throwing the ball at a referee, he was initially given a one-match ban, but that was increased to two months after insulting members of the French Football Federation Committee. He then announced his first retirement from professional football in 1991

Michel Platini and Gerard Houllier were influential in persuading Cantona back to playing. They encouraged him to play for a club in England. He was offered to Liverpool before getting a trial at Sheffield Wednesday but he ultimately ended up at Leeds.

It turned out to be the right decision as he helped the Whites win the First Division title in 1992, although clashes with manager Howard Wilkinson over the club’s playing style hastened his exit from Elland Road.

His time at Manchester United

Although Leeds supporters were not happy with the decision, their club were more than willing to sell Cantona to their fierce rivals for £1m in November 1992 due to the disruption he had caused in the club’s dressing room.

Red Devils boss Alex Ferguson was just the type of manager that the France international needed to put him on the straight and narrow. During his first season at Old Trafford, Cantona transformed the club’s fortunes.

United were trailing behind the likes of Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers in the table when he first arrived but his ability to score and create chances for others led to the club going on the run that ended up with them winning the Premier League title, finishing 10 points ahead of their nearest rivals. It was the first time that they had won the league in 26 years.

Cantona continued to score goals for fun in his four subsequent seasons at the club, finding the back of the net 25 times in 1993/94, on 14 occasions in 1994/95, 19 during the 1995/96 campaign and 15 in his final season before his retirement.

However, controversy was never far away. He was fined £1000 on his first return to Leeds for spitting. His infamous kung-fu kick during a game against Crystal Palace also led to him being sentenced to 120 hours of community service and an eight-month ban from football. He was stripped of the France captaincy and never played for his country again following that incident.

However, Cantona did return to play for United for two more seasons, before deciding to retire for a second time at the age of 30.

Cantona’s career achievements

• The striker won two league titles with Marseille and the French Cup whilst on loan at Montpellier.
• Cantona won the First Division title and the Charity Shield at Leeds.
• He won 5 Premier League titles, two FA Cups and three Charity Shields in his time with Manchester United.
• Cantona won the PFA Players’ Player of the Year in 1995.
• He was also given the Footballer Writers Association Football of the Year Award in 1996.