Eric Cantona accuses Sir Jim Ratcliffe of destroying his club saying that the club rejected his offer of help.
Eric Cantona accuses Sir Jim Ratcliffe of trying to ‘destroy’ Manchester United.
After spending five years with United in the 1990s, Cantona is regarded as one of the team’s best football players. Cantona was at FC United of Manchester on Saturday. The team was established by angry Manchester United supporters in May 2005 in opposition to Malcolm Glazer’s leveraged acquisition of United, which left the team with almost £500 million in debt.
In his remarks, Cantona criticised Ratcliffe and the CEO the billionaire appointed since his buy-in was formally confirmed in February 2024, citing a plan to construct a stadium with 100,000 seats.
“Since Ratcliffe arrived this team of directors try to destroy everything and they don’t respect anybody,” Cantona said. “They even want to change the stadium. The soul of the team and the club is not in the players. All the people around is like a big family.”
The Frenchman said: “I think it’s very important to respect these people like you respect your manager and teammates. Since Ratcliffe arrived, it’s the complete opposite. He doesn’t want Sir Alex Ferguson as an ambassador any more. He is more than a legend and I think we have to find this soul again. This team of directors, they try to destroy everything. They don’t respect anybody. They even want to change the stadium. The stadium is iconic.
“For me, Arsenal lost their soul when they left Highbury and I’m sure a lot of fans miss Highbury. It’s like when you go in a house and feel a special energy. Can you imagine Liverpool playing in another stadium than Anfield? It’s impossible. I don’t think United can play in another stadium than Old Trafford.”
Cantona explained his offer of help to Ratcliffe. “Until the end of October this year I will shoot movies,” he said. “But I said to them: ‘I can put that [aside] and concentrate and help you to rebuild something.’
“And they don’t care. Me too, because I work. I don’t ask anything. But I feel sad to see United in this kind of situation. So, for me and the respect for myself, I had to do it and I did it, and they didn’t care and I don’t care. They decided something else. They have another strategy, another project.”