Éric Daniel Pierre Cantona (French: [eʁik danjɛl pjɛʁ kɑ̃tɔna]; born 24 May 1966) is a French actor and former professional footballer. In his football career, Cantona was a physically strong and technically skilful player with both creative and goalscoring ability. Mostly utilised as a deep-lying forward, he was also capable of playing as a centre-forward, a dedicated striker, an attacking midfielder, or a central midfielder. Regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players in 2004.
Cantona played for Auxerre, Martigues, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nîmes and Leeds United, before ending his career at Manchester United, with whom he won four Premier League titles in five years, including two League and FA Cup Doubles. He wore the iconic number 7 shirt at Manchester United and was known for turning up his collar. He is affectionately nicknamed "King Eric" by Manchester United fans. Cantona won league championships in England and France in seven of his last eight full seasons as a professional, and at least one trophy in eight of his last nine. At international level, he played for the France national team and scored 20 goals in 45 matches. He appeared at UEFA Euro 1992 and, in preparation for Euro 96, was appointed captain in 1994.
In 2003, Cantona was voted as Manchester United's greatest-ever player by Inside United magazine. He was an inaugural inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002. At the Premier League 10 Seasons Awards in 2003, he was voted the Overseas Player of the Decade. Cantona was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2021. Charismatic and outspoken, Cantona's achievements in football were set against fallings out with coaches and team-mates, and a poor disciplinary record throughout his career, including a 1995 conviction for an assault on an abusive spectator, for which he received a two-week prison sentence, reduced to community service on appeal, and an eight-month suspension from football – preventing him from participating at Euro 96.
In 1997, Cantona unexpectedly announced his retirement from football just before his 31st birthday. He then moved into a career in cinema, including roles in the films Elizabeth (1998), French Film (2008), Looking for Eric (2009) and The Killer (2024). In 2010, he debuted as a stage actor in Face au Paradis, a play directed by his wife, Rachida Brakni. Cantona took an interest in the sport of beach soccer; as player-manager of the France national beach soccer team, he won the 2005 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Loans to Bordeaux and Montpellier
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.
Return to Marseille, transfer to Nîmes
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.