Inside story on Cantona’s transfer to Man U - Leeds Live
The inside story of Eric Cantona's transfer from Leeds United to Manchester United
An extract from a new book reveals the conversations behind
Cantona's controversial switch from Elland Road to Old Trafford
Eric Cantona’s move from Leeds United to Manchester United
was instigated by a phone call from Leeds' managing director Bill Fotherby.
The Frenchman's relationship with Leeds manager Howard Wilkinson
had deteriorated and a parting of the ways seemed inevitable.
But Cantona's destination stunned the football world.
The revelation is made in a new book, King Eric - Portrait
Of the Artist Who Changed English Football.
“I rang United about Denis Irwin, who had been at Leeds as a
young boy,” said Fotherby.
“United chairman Martin Edwards said there was no chance but
I asked him to at least speak to Alex (Ferguson).
“Normally, I wouldn’t have expected him to ring back. This
time he did, offering me a different player I knew Howard would not be
interested in.
"It was then he asked about Eric. I said 'No way' and
that it was impossible.
“Howard was out house-hunting in Leeds. I left it a couple
of hours, rang Martin and said, ‘I can’t believe this but Howard is willing to
let the boy go’.”
Edwards could not believe his luck. He said: “I was friends
with Irving Scholar, the former Tottenham chairman, who lived in Monaco.
Whenever we talked he would rave about this lad Cantona.
“He would say, ‘He’s made for you, he’s a player made for
United. His style of play is suited to United. I can see him in that red and
white strip.’
“Having read about the falling out between Howard and Eric,
I remembered how important he’d been to Leeds’ title win in 1992. If he hadn’t
gone there, I am sure we would have won it.
“Bill was almost too honest for his own good. I called Alex
and told him of Bill’s enquiry about Irwin. He said no, as I expected.
“And then I said, ‘Would you take Cantona if I could get
him?’ Alex replied, ‘Too bloody right I would!’
“Then Bill called to follow up about Irwin. I told him Alex
wasn’t having that, but we’d take Cantona off his hands, almost as if we were
doing him a favour!
“Bill said, ‘We’re open to selling him, but we have one
problem at our end. He’s very popular. The crowd love him. We’ll get
slaughtered. Howard will do it, but only if we do it very quickly.' I said that
was no problem.”
The negotiation over the fee reads almost like a sitcom
script:
Edwards : “What do you want for him?”
Fotherby: “£1.6m.”
Edwards : “I won’t pay that. But we’ll take him off your
hands for a million.”
Fotherby: “I can’t do a million! I told you I’d get
slaughtered. I’d get lynched at that price. I can’t go any lower than £1.2m.”
Edwards : “Bill, I’ll give you a million.”
Fotherby: “Well, can I say it’s £1.2m?”
Edwards : “You can say what you like.”
“I called Alex to tell him and he couldn’t believe it,” said
Edwards.
When Cantona and his lawyer travelled to the Midland Hotel
in Manchester to meet Ferguson and Edwards, the agreement for him to sign for
United was already a formality.
Ferguson had consulted Michel Platini who said: “You should
sign him, his character is underestimated - he just needs a bit of
understanding.”
The United boss Ferguson could scarcely believe how
straightforward the negotiation proved, saying: “I’ve never seen a deal done as
quickly as Eric Cantona’s.
“He came with Jean-Jacques Bertrand from the PFA in France.
So we had a cup of tea, and Jean-Jacques went to the table with the chairman.
“The chairman got his calculator out and said, ‘We’ll do
that.’ Eric and I were just having a cup of tea. Eric doesn’t speak much
English, and I was practising my French.
“And the chairman said, ‘Right, can we shake on that?’
Jean-Jacques said, ‘Yes!’
“And Jean-Jacques never even asked Eric if he was happy with
it. Eric always trusts him to do the deal. But that must have all been done in
half an hour.”