King Eric’s lording it with the Rebels

By Jon Couch

OH LA LA! Manchester United legend Eric Cantona has become a part-owner at FC United

PICTURE: Alamy

FAN-OWNED FC United of Manchester have unveiled a rather unlikely new co-owner – Manchester United legend Eric Cantona!

The former French international revealed in a video posted on the Red Rebels’ X account that his whole family have signed up for membership, stating that the club have a “young” but “great history”.

The NPL Premier club was set up in 2005 by disillusioned Manchester United fans following the controversial takeover of the Old Trafford club by the Glazer family. The club now boasts more than 2,000 co-owners with ‘King Eric’ the latest and most high-profile of them all.

Joining from Leeds United for a bargain £1 million in 1992, Cantona, 58, enjoyed great success at Old Trafford, winning four Premier League titles in five seasons.

His antics both on and off the field established him as a cult hero in English football before he unexpectedly hung up his boots in 1997 after 156 appearances for the club, scoring 70 goals.

Since his retirement, Cantona pursued a career in cinema, including starring alongside Cate Blanchett in the 1998 film Elizabeth, before moving into beach soccer where, as player-manager of the French national team, he won the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in 2005.

Creative

A keen musician, actor and artist, Cantona has also been involved in a number of creative projects in the UK in recent months and is also part of this summer’s Football City Art United exhibition, held during the Manchester International Festival, which highlights the effects that fame has on footballers.

New on the landscape from his playing days in Manchester, FC United are democratically run by supporters on a “one member, one vote” basis with members able to vote on major club decisions at boardroom level.

Adult membership costs £25 and provides members with an equal share of club ownership.

A club spokesperson told the BBC: “We’re delighted to welcome Eric and his family as our latest co-owners, joining over 2,000 other FC United fans who believe there’s a better way for football – where clubs are run with the interests of supporters and local communities at the heart of everything they do.

“Eric said he joined us because we’re a club that does things differently – driven by fairness, inclusivity, and a commitment to putting people before profit.

“While our history is short, it’s something we’re already incredibly proud of – built by fans, for fans. “As Eric himself put it, ‘people around the world should join FC United as a member, because we are a great club’.”