Eric Cantona is talking about goats. Not GOATS. Goats. Specifically, the pet goat that has been keeping him company lately. The one he was seen walking down a street in London. The one pictured with Cantona on a flag at Glastonbury.
And what is the goat all about? “It’s a secret,” he says enigmatically. “I have many secrets. I am full of secrets, including secrets from myself.”
More on the secret later.
Is she a good goat? “Oh, wonderful. Wonderful. I love her and she loves me. We have a great relationship. Very close, yes.”
I never imagined that the interview with the Manchester United icon would turn out like this. Almost 30 years after his famous comment about seagulls and fishing boats, Cantona remains as enigmatic as ever.
Manchester United legend Eric Cantona remains as enigmatic as ever 30 years after his most famous comment
Cantona’s famous comment about seagulls and trawlers was the inspiration behind Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s holding company Trawlers Ltd, which he used to invest in Manchester United.
Ratcliffe had previously revealed that Cantona was his favourite Manchester United player.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe was so impressed by the words spoken by his favourite United player that he called the holding company set up to invest £1.3bn in the club, Trawlers Ltd.
That made Cantona smile. “Yes, of course,” he said. “It’s an honour for me. You can see his sense of humour. How can I put it? He likes to work hard but he likes to do things.”
“I think Manchester United, now with Jim Ratcliffe, are trying to rebuild the foundations of the club. I think they will be back to their best in the near future.”
‘It is certainly the right decision to have Jim Ratcliffe and his team in charge of sport at Manchester United.
‘We talk a lot about players and coaches, but sometimes we downplay the importance of the presidents and the people who are really in charge of the club.
“You can see that Chelsea are not the same club since Abramovich left. Nowadays it is very important for Manchester United to have someone like Ratcliffe in charge of the club from a sporting point of view.”
Which begs the question: has Ratcliffe or someone at Ineos approached Cantona to offer him a role in the new set-up?
He pauses as he thinks about his answer. “Yes,” the 58-year-old confirms. “I don’t know, I have to think about it. But, for sure, if I do something it will be something that can really help the club.”
Cantona admitted that Ineos had contacted him about a possible stake in the club.
The club legend recently shocked fans after appearing with a goat in a recent social media interview.
Cantona was spotted walking a goat in the London town of Bermondsey and the clip went viral on social media.
‘You know, it’s not about being an ambassador. Really involved. Of course, I don’t want to be a manager. But I have to think about it, and he has to think about it.
‘We think about something that maybe it’s like this. Or maybe it’s not. Maybe (singing). Maybe yes, maybe no. Maybe yes, maybe no. It’s all about maybe. Maybe tomorrow I’ll be alive. Maybe I’ll be dead. Maybe the goat could play a role. Maybe the goat will inspire us.’
Here we go again. Cantona back on the trawler with the sardines and the seagulls flying overhead.
Seriously, was he planning to say that when he sat next to United’s lawyer Maurice Watkins in 1995 to face the press following an appeal hearing at Croydon Magistrates’ Court over his kung-fu kick of Crystal Palace fan Matthew Simmons?
‘No, no. I did it at the time because I didn’t want to talk to the press and Manchester United’s lawyer said to me: “Yes, you have to say something.” So I said something to make everyone happy and I left. I could have said something else.
‘The most important thing was not what I said but why I said it. Without any kind of meaning. I could have said: “I’m on the roof, I walk on the clouds and I see the light passing through my heart.”
Cantona’s famous comment came at a press conference following an appeal hearing at Croydon Magistrates’ Court over his kung-fu kick on Crystal Palace fan Matthew Simmons.
Cantona’s signing had been the catalyst for an unprecedented period of success under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Manchester United have not won the Premier League title since Ferguson retired in 2013
‘I’m telling you this because I can see the roof of the building where I’m standing, I can see the clouds and I can see the sunlight, and I can feel my heart because I’m in love with Manchester United as always.’
It is 27 years since Cantona abruptly left Old Trafford, but he still loves United as much as United loves the charismatic Frenchman who was a catalyst for the unprecedented era of success under Sir Alex Ferguson. In five years at the club, he won four Premier League titles and twice the FA Cup.
United have not come close to winning the title again since Ferguson retired 11 years ago, but Cantona feels the wait could soon be over under Ratcliffe.
“The interesting thing about the Premier League and the reason it’s watched all over the world is that a lot of clubs can win the league, you know. It’s very difficult to win the league.
‘A big club like Manchester United… you can see that Liverpool waited 30 years to win the league again. In those 30 years, they won two Champions Leagues and a UEFA Cup, so you can see how difficult it is to win the league.
‘As Manchester United fans, we all hope that they can win the league in the near future, although that may take two or three years.
‘The most important thing is to recreate something. I remember when I was young, when the players knew each other. We would say good morning to each other. I think it’s very important that we all work together as human beings and that all the energy between people is in the same room, for the same goal.
Despite winning the FA Cup last season, Cantona believes it could take Manchester United two to three years to win the Premier League again.
Cantona admits he can’t imagine Manchester United without Old Trafford amid Ratcliffe’s plans to deliver a Wembley of the North
“It’s not just about the manager and the players. I think the club is a big family and we have to respect everyone and look after everyone, and everyone should realise how important it is to work for this club for the same goal, to win trophies, big trophies.”
If Cantona had his way, everything would be done inside Old Trafford, just as it is now. There would be no new stadium, no Wembley of the North, as Ratcliffe imagines. For Cantona, the old stadium is a beautiful place that needs to be torn down.
“No, never,” he says. “I think the stadium is very important. I remember the first day I arrived at Manchester United, I could feel the ghosts of the club, the players and everything. The energy of the club. The history. It’s a legacy. You can feel the soul of the club, you can strongly feel the energy of the past. It’s very important.
“I can’t imagine Manchester United without Old Trafford. I can’t imagine Liverpool without Anfield or Real Madrid without the Santiago Bernabéu. I think some clubs change stadiums and lose their soul, like Arsenal, for example. When they left Highbury, they lost the soul of this club.”
Ah, the memories. The nostalgia. Which brings us back to Cantona’s little secret and the story behind the goat.
Cantona revealed the story behind the goat is part of the relaunch of the Ford Capri
It’s part of the relaunch of the Ford Capri as an electric vehicle 38 years after the company’s iconic model was discontinued. One of the all-time Premier League greats that celebrates the return of Ford’s GOAT.
“I like the feeling of nostalgia sometimes,” says Cantona. “I love the Capri from the 70s. I love it. They reinvented it, they were inspired by it. The new one is very modern, of course, fully electric. I think it’s very important for the planet and the new generations of people.”
‘I like the feeling of nostalgia but I think I can also feel the soul of the Capri of the 70s in the new one.
“Like me, I was a footballer and then an actor and a singer or whatever. Different things, evolutions, over time they are the same soul.” Fascinating as always, Cantona is back.