Eric Cantona is quite simply the greatest player ever to have played in the English Premiership. His influence was incredible, not only did he help bring the title to Leeds United and then four times in five years to Manchester United his personality made the game far more popular than it had ever been, opening the door to many other World stars to come to these shores to play. In fact the only season in England, Eric did not win the league was whilst he served his 9 month worldwide suspension.

eric was born on 24th May 1966; a date made famous by the Nike advert mocking England's 1966 World Cup win - '66 was a great year for English football - Eric was born!'

In 1983 he made his debut as a professional footballer for French club Auxerre. Over three seasons he scored only twice in thirteen appearances and was loaned to Martigues. On his return to Auxerre in 1986 he scored 21 goals over two seasons.

The mercurial Frenchman wasn't without his troubles though - iIn 1987, he was heavily fined for punching his own goalkeeper although also managed to receive his first cap for France (against West Germany).

In 1988, Eric Cantona was sold to French giants, Marseille where he received a one year ban from the French team for calling the national coach, Henri Michel, "one of the world's most incompetent trainers".

Eric was later suspended by Marseille when, upon being substituded in a charity match, he kicked the ball into the crowd and threw his shirt at the referee. Marseille loaned him out to Montepellier where, in 1990, he was banned for 10 days after smashing his boot into the face of team-mate Jean-Claude Lemoult. Amazingly, Marseille accepted him back before selling him to Nimes in 1991, where he received a three match ban for throwing the ball at a referee.

At the French disciplinary hearing he infamously called each committee member an idiot! to their face, earning himself a further three month suspension which prompted him to announce his retirement from football.

On the advice on Michel Platini, Eric Cantona changed his mind and moved to England for the 1991/92 season where, after refusing a one week trial with Sheffield Wednesday, he joined Leeds United. He quickly became the crowd favourite and helped the Yorkshire club pip Manchester United to the title in his first year. In true Cantona-style though he fell out with Leeds manager Howard Wilkinson and was amazingly sold to their Manchester rivals.

In only his second season in English football (1992/93), he helped Manchester United win the inaugrial Premiership title, their first Championship crown in 26 years. The season didn't pass without incident though, as Eric was fined £1,000 for spitting at a Leeds fan.

The following season (1993/94), saw Manchester United go one step further with arguably United's most exciting team ever. Sir Alex Ferguson's men won the Premiership and FA Cup double, with Eric Cantona scoring twice in the 4-0 Cup Final win over Chelsea.

the 1994/95 season will go down as Eric's most infamous though as what was to happen would make headlines all over the planet. Having been sent off for a foul in a game against Crystal Palace on January 25th 1995 at Selhurst Park, London, Eric made his way slowly off the pitch towards the dressing room. As Cantona walked down the touchline, Matthew Simmons, a shaven-headed Crystal Palace fan, made his way towards the front of the crowd to shout abuse at the Frenchman. Eric launched himself over the advertising hoardings and placed his infamous 'kung fu' kick firmly on the thug's chest. The assault earned him a 9 month worldwide ban from football as well as a place in footballing history. With almost half a season left, United couldn't retain their Premiership title without Eric's influence and they finished second to Blackburn Rovers.

The incident resulted in a court case in March 1995, during which he was initially sentenced to 2 weeks in prison (this was later converted to 120 hours community service). The thug, Matthew Simmons, also received a slightly shorter prison sentence (which he served).

In the Spring of 1995, during his lengthy ban from football, Eric returned to the Gers region in South West France, to fulfill a life-long ambition of acting. His brief appearance as Lionel, a two-timing, rugby-playing boyfriend of a girl whose father had quit the rat race and bought a duck farm received suprisingly rave reviews. The comedy film was called, appropriately, 'Le Bonheur est dans le Pre' (or 'Happiness In The Field' in America). It also starred Eric's brother Joel Cantona, who also played football (for Stockport County).

Interestingly, despite his ban, Eric was still Nike's No.1 World sports star, with his adverts broadcast Worldwide and given higher priority than those featuring the likes of Ronaldo and Michael Jordan (this even continued after he retired - the latest being the Nike Scorpion advert for the 2002 World Cup which involves a tournament starring some of the best players in World football hosted by Eric). 'Le Bonheur' included some blatant endorsements for the product.

Whilst the film was a massive box-office success in France and Switzerland, the English Cantona-hungry cinema-goers were not given the opportunity until the film was released on video some time later.

Having served his ban, Eric returned to football in October 1995 influencing United to win their third Premiership title. With Cantona-frenzy being at an all time high in Europe and Asia, Eric won the Footballer Of The Year award and scored the winning goal in the last minute of the FA Cup Final against Liverpool to help United become the first team ever to win the Double Double.

Having helping United retain their Premiership crown the following season (1996/97), Eric Cantona suddenly announced his retirement from football at the young age of 31. Everybody was stunned however Eric was focused on making a new life for himself, acting and painting.

Eric Cantona's first major film, 'A Question Of Honour', premiered in Paris in September 1997. Starring alongside his brother, Joel, and Jake LaMotta (the original Raging Bull), Eric played a scary boxing promoter in the comedy, which also includeed a soundtrack by Joe Strummer, Pablo Cook and Bez.

By the end of 1997, Eric was working with massive United fans, Christopher Eccleston and Angus Deayton, on his first blockbuster, 'Elizabeth'. The film, which also starred Sir Richard Attenborough, Joesph Fiennes, Cate Blanchett, Sir John Gielgud and Kathy Burke, won one Oscar and was also nominated for 6 others including Best Picture.

Eric again recieved high praise for his portrayal of French Ambassador, Monsieur de Foix, the first time he had actually played an English-speaking role. Eric again played a boxer in his next movie, 'Mookie', which was filmed in Mexico.

The delightful film saw Eric playing the lead role as a boxer who meets a monk and his talking chimpanzee on the run from scientists. Although it has never been released in the UK, 'Mookie', which was based on the Herve Fen book, is a fantastic film and Eric's performance as Capella is certainly worth a look.

The next movie project Eric was to take part in was entitled 'Les Enfants du Marais' (or 'Children Of The Marshland') and saw him return to France where he starred, yet again as a boxer, alongside the likes of Jacques Villeret, Jacques Gamblin and Michel Serrault. The film was slated despite its great cast and Eric's fine portrayal of Jo Sardi, an evil boxer.

Whatever Eric Cantona decides to do next, you can expect him to approach it with a passion that matched his footballing days. Maybe he will eventually fulfill his dream of becoming a film director or even the director of football at Manchester United.