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.
Cantona quickly settled into the team, slotting in alongside Mark Hughes, while Brian McClair was switched to central midfield. Cantona contributed greatly to a quick upturn in the team's fortunes, not only scoring goals but also creating chances for the other players. His first United goal came in a 1–1 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 19 December 1992 and his second came on Boxing Day in a 3–3 draw against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough, where they claimed a point after being 3–0 down. However, controversy was never far away and on his return to Elland Road to play Leeds a few weeks later, he spat at a Leeds fan who taunted him and was fined £1,000 by The Football Association. United only lost twice in the league after Cantona's arrival and finished the season ten points clear at the top of the table, finishing as champions for the first time in 26 years, which made Cantona the first player to win consecutive English top-division titles with different clubs. He had won a domestic league title with different clubs for three successive seasons, having helped Marseille win the French league title in 1991.
United retained the Premier League in 1993–94, topping the table for virtually the entire season, and Cantona's two penalties helped them to a 4–0 win over Chelsea in the 1994 FA Cup Final. He also collected a runners-up medal in the Football League Cup, which the team lost 3–1 to Aston Villa. He was also voted PFA Player of the Year for that season and finished as United's top scorer with 25 goals in all competitions; however, the season was not without its moments of controversy: Cantona was sent off as the team exited the Champions League against Galatasaray and was also dismissed in successive league games in March 1994, firstly against Swindon Town and then against Arsenal. The two successive red cards saw Cantona banned for five matches, including an FA Cup semi-final clash with Oldham Athletic, which United drew 1–1. Cantona was available for the replay and helped them win 4–1.
1993–94 was the first season of squad numbers in the Premier League. Cantona was issued with the number 7 shirt, a squad number he kept for the rest of his United career and that already had iconic status, having previously been worn by club legends including George Best and Bryan Robson; however, squad numbers were not yet set for Champions League matches (or in domestic cup ties against lower division sides) and Cantona wore the number 9 shirt in the four fixtures home and away against Kispest Honvéd and Galatasaray. On 19 December 1993, he scored two against Aston Villa, the previous season's runners-up, in a 3–1 victory that put United 13 points clear at the top of the league. They extended their lead to 16 points soon after and eventually finished eight points ahead of runners-up Blackburn. Cantona was United's top scorer with 26 goals in all competitions. He also won the PFA Player of the Year award.
In the 1994–95 season, United were in the hunt for a third successive league title, and for the first half of the season, things went smoothly enough for player and club. The season began with a 2–0 Wembley win over Blackburn in the Charity Shield, in which Cantona scored a penalty. Cantona frequently scored for Manchester United, who once again battled for the title against a Blackburn side that led the table for much of the season, particularly with a 4–2 win at Ewood Park in late October, in which Cantona was on the scoresheet. He was also on the scoresheet in a memorable 5–0 derby win over Manchester City in November. On 22 January 1995, he scored the winning goal in a 1–0 home win over Blackburn that made the title race even tighter and brought Cantona's tally of league goals for that season to 12. He scored a further goal in an FA Cup third-round win at Sheffield United earlier that month, fuelling talk of a second successive title. The arrival of striker Andy Cole from Newcastle United on 10 January further boosted these hopes, even though Cole was cup-tied for FA Cup fixtures.
On 25 January 1995, he was involved in an incident that attracted headlines and controversy worldwide. In an away match against Crystal Palace, Cantona was sent off by referee Alan Wilkie for kicking Palace defender Richard Shaw, after Shaw had frustrated Cantona throughout the game by closely marking him. As he was walking towards the tunnel, Cantona launched a 'kung-fu' style kick into the crowd, directed at Palace supporter Matthew Simmons, who had run down eleven rows of stairs to confront and shout abuse at Cantona. Simmons was alleged to have used the words "Fuck off back to France, you French bastard". Cantona followed the kick with a series of punches.
At a press conference called later, Cantona said, in a slow and deliberate manner:
Cantona then got up from his seat and abruptly left, leaving behind him a packed media room surprised and baffled – some roared with laughter – with those in the room trying to decipher his cryptic words.
Cantona was faced with a criminal charge of assault, which he admitted to on 23 March, resulting in a two-week prison sentence, although he was freed on bail pending an appeal. This was overturned in the appeal court a week later and instead he was sentenced to 120 hours of community service, which was spent coaching children at United's training ground. The fan who was attacked by Cantona, Matthew Simmons, went on trial separately a year later, and claimed that he only shouted "Off! Off! Off! It's an early bath for you, Mr Cantona!", but was found guilty of abusive behaviour and handed a £500 fine and banned from the stadium for a year, having already had his season ticket withdrawn by Crystal Palace within days of the incident. Immediately after the verdict was proclaimed, Simmons then assaulted prosecutor Jeffrey McCann, for which he was sentenced to a week in jail, plus an additional £500 fine as well as £200 in legal costs.
As well as criminal proceedings, there was also disciplinary action from his club and The FA. A lengthy ban from the game was regarded as inevitable, with some critics calling for Cantona to be deported and never allowed to play football in England again, while others called for him to be banned from football for life. In accordance with The FA's wishes, United's initial action was to fine Cantona £20,000 for the assault and to confirm that he would not play for the first team for the rest of the season, although United were still in the hunt for a second double. The FA then increased the ban to eight months, up to and including 30 September 1995, and fined him a further £10,000.
The FA Chief Executive Graham Kelly described his attack as "a stain on our game" that brought shame on football. FIFA then confirmed the suspension as worldwide, meaning that Cantona could not escape the ban by being transferred or loaned to a foreign club. He was stripped of the captaincy of the France national team by coach Aimé Jacquet, and never played for the France national team again; his club went on to lose the title to Blackburn Rovers.
There had been media speculation that Cantona would leave United to play for a foreign club when his suspension finished and many observers felt he would not be able to cope with the inevitable goading from rival players and supporters once his suspension finished. Ferguson persuaded him to stay in Manchester, despite interest from Italian club Inter Milan, who had managed to lure his team-mate Paul Ince to Italy that summer.
Even after signing his new contract, Cantona was frustrated by the terms of his ban, which did not even allow him to play in friendly matches behind closed doors. On 8 August, he handed in a request for his contract to be terminated, as he no longer wanted to play football in England. This came after United had been censured by the FA for fielding Cantona in a match against another club at the club's training ground, which was defined as a friendly match, despite the club organising the match as being within the context of training – as his suspension allowed him to play in this type of match only. The request was turned down and two days later, following a meeting in Paris with Ferguson, he declared that he would remain at the club.
In 2011, Cantona said that the attack on Simmons was "a great feeling" and a memory he is happy for fans to treasure, but "... it was a mistake". In 2002, the notoriety of the kung fu kick saw it ranked number 12 on Channel 4's poll of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments. In retrospect, Simmons' behaviour that provoked Cantona's kick would a decade later be regarded as racial abuse, which almost certainly would have forced the partial or full closure of Crystal Palace's stadium, as well as meriting Simmons a considerably lengthier sentence. More recently, when Paul Pogba's Manchester United team-mate Marcus Rashford was racially abused on social media, and ex-footballer Garth Crooks said that "[i]f something drastic is not done soon…" there could be an incident between a player and a fan, similar to Cantona's kung-fu kick on the offensive fan in 1995.
In his comeback game against arch rivals Liverpool on 1 October 1995, Cantona set up a goal for Nicky Butt two minutes into the game and then scored a penalty to secure a point for United in a 2–2 home draw. However, eight months without competitive football had taken its toll and Cantona struggled for form in his first three months back in action; by 24 December, the gap between United and league leaders Newcastle had increased to ten points, and eventually to twelve.
However, Cantona recaptured his form in the new year. During January 1996, the gap between United and the leaders stretched to 12 points, but the comeback began when Cantona scored the winning goal at West Ham, and shortly afterwards Cantona excelled on his first visit to Selhurst Park since he was banned, during which he scored twice in a 4–2 win over Wimbledon. Victory over Arsenal on 20 March, with Cantona scoring the only goal of the game with a 25-yard half-volley, saw United overtake Newcastle in the title race, where they remained for the rest of the season, with Cantona having already scored the winner at Newcastle earlier that month. The goal came as part of a personal scoring run of six consecutive league matches for Cantona, four of which saw him score the game's only goal. He scored the fifth in a 5–0 win over Nottingham Forest on the penultimate day of the season, a result that meant that United realistically only needed to avoid defeat at Middlesbrough on the final day; they won 3–0 to secure their third league title in four years. Cantona finished the season as the club's top scorer with 14 goals from 30 league appearances. United had suffered just one defeat after the turn of the year.
Cantona's ban meant he was not eligible to appear in either of their UEFA Cup fixtures, nor the first leg of their League Cup second-round tie, but he did score in four of United's six matches on the way to the 1996 FA Cup Final against Liverpool, their third in a row in the competition. In the absence of regular captain Steve Bruce due to injury, Cantona wore the armband for the final and took on the captain's responsibility by volleying in the only goal of the game from the edge of the penalty area in the 86th minute after Liverpool had failed to clear a corner. United's victory made them the first club to win the double twice and Cantona the first FA Cup-winning captain from outside the British Isles.
Cantona was named as United's captain for the 1996–97 season following the departure of Bruce to Birmingham City. United retained the league in the 1996–97 season; Cantona had won four league titles in five years with the team, and six in seven years including those won with Marseille and Leeds, the exception being the 1994–95 season which he had missed the second half of through suspension. United also reached the semi-finals of the Champions League (European Cup) - their best run of form in the competition for 28 years.
On 18 May 1997, shortly after the end of the 1996–97 season, Cantona caused a major shock when he announced his retirement from football. The decision was announced at a press conference at Old Trafford, at which he was not present, and came following several weeks after media reports suggested that he might soon be leaving the club. United manager Alex Ferguson later revealed in his autobiography that Cantona had in fact informed him of his intention to quit football the previous month.
His final competitive game came against West Ham on 11 May 1997, and his final appearance before retiring was five days later on 16 May in a testimonial for David Busst (whose career had been ended by an injury suffered against United the previous year) against Coventry City at Highfield Road. Cantona had scored a total of 64 league goals for United, 13 in domestic cup competitions, and five in the Champions League, bringing his tally to 82 goals in less than five years.
