Manchester United icon Eric Cantona has launched a stunning critique of the club's current direction, taking aim at minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and lamenting the diminished atmosphere at Old Trafford. The French football legend, who won four Premier League titles with the club, expressed his deep frustration and even suggested he would now prefer to support a lower-league team.
A Rejected Offer and a Broken Legacy
The 59-year-old revealed that he personally offered to return to Manchester and assist with the club's rebuilding process under Ratcliffe and manager Ruben Amorim. Cantona stated he was willing to set aside his other passions and projects for two or three years to give back to the club. However, his offer was not taken up.
He feels the current ownership is actively destroying the legacy built by his former manager, Sir Alex Ferguson. 'Sir Alex Ferguson created a style of beautiful attacking football, which the new owners should have used,' Cantona said at a live show, as reported by The Telegraph. 'Instead, they destroyed it.' He added that he no longer feels guilty about the club's situation, having done what he felt was necessary by offering his help.
Scathing Criticism of the Ownership and Fan Experience
This is not the first time Cantona has spoken out against Ratcliffe's regime. He had previously criticised the substantial job cuts at the club. His latest comments go further, questioning the very soul of Manchester United. 'I support United because I really love United, but now if I was a fan and I had to choose a club I don't think I would choose United,' he admitted.
He accused the new team of directors of having no respect and trying to 'destroy everything,' citing the potential stadium change as an example. Cantona also delivered a damning assessment of the matchday experience, blaming a quiet atmosphere on tourists. 'I went to Old Trafford last season for the game against Manchester City, and I thought it was quiet,' he said. He believes the real fans now prefer away matches, while the home ground is filled with 'people who come from different parts of the world just to go to the merchandise store.'
A Call for Football's Soul and A Lasting Legacy
Cantona's passion for the working-class roots of football remains undimmed. 'Football is a working-class game – it's important we don't lose that,' he asserted. This sentiment led him to the striking conclusion that if he lived in England today, he would rather be a fan of a club in the third or fourth division, where he believes the true energy of the game still exists.
Despite his retirement from the game in 1997 at the age of 30, Cantona's legacy at Old Trafford endures. Current players, like summer signing Matheus Cunha, still speak of him with reverence. Cunha told The Sun that he feels privileged to be compared to Cantona, acknowledging he has to 'do much more things' to be considered on the same level as the iconic Frenchman who made history at the club.
