European glory would have kept Cantona at United

ERIC CANTONA has revealed that he would have stayed at Manchester United if the club had won the Champions League in his last season at Old Trafford.

The French legend quit the game aged 30 after United had lost 2-0 on aggregate in the 1997 Champions League semi-finals to eventual winners Borussia Dortmund.

Cantona even toyed with the idea of making a playing comeback six months ago after coaching the France team to third place in the Beach Soccer World Cup last November.

“Six months ago, I realised that even if I trained for two months it wasn’t possible,” he said. “I didn’t have the fire anymore.”

Ten years after his retirement, with his former team on the verge of a place in this year’s Champions League final, Cantona has lifted the lid on his dramatic final days at Old Trafford and claimed that the United money-men were to blame for the early retirement when he was in the prime of his career.

“Maybe if we had won the European Cup that season with United, I would have kept on playing,” Cantona admitted. “But in my last game for United, which was against West Ham, I didn’t feel anything special. I was fed up, and I knew I could come back if I wanted. I was thinking, ‘I am young, I can train for two months and then come back’.

But instead, after inspiring United to six Premier League titles in seven years the Frenchman turned his back on the game and became an actor.

“The environment contributed a lot to my passion dying,” he explained in an interview with L’Equipe to be published today.

“In Manchester, there is a lot of merchandising: ‘We need you for an interview, a picture, a book.’

Cantona was furious that the club continued to make money from his image and, after he left the club, he sued the club for abusing his image rights. “Those kinds of things destroyed me. They were a betrayal,” he said. “So, when I left the club I told them that I was suing them. And I won the trial. The problem with England is that you don’t control anything. England is beautiful for a lot of things, but very sad and bad regarding people’s image.”