Eric Cantona (1992)
Leeds to Man Utd, £1.2m
'Leeds came on the phone asking if we'd sell them Denis Irwin,' recalls Alex Ferguson. 'It was a non-starter. But jokingly I suggested we'd swap him for Eric Cantona - and there was this pause at the other end...'
Cantona was a figure of love at Elland Road. In his first English TV interview, he told the fans: 'I don't know why I love you, but I do.' Fans loved him back, releasing a single, 'Ooh, Ah, Cantona', selling 15,000 copies. He scored goals, he had style, poetry, attitude; he helped Leeds win the title. Love was everywhere, and everything was beautiful.
But one man didn't feel it. Howard Wilkinson thought his new signing from Nimes was workshy, egotistical, disruptive. In return, Eric thought Wilkinson was 'bizarre'. A few months into the new season, the rows broke into the open and Cantona was dropped. 'Eric likes to do what he likes when he likes - and then fucks off,' Wilkinson told the press - then, in November, agreed the shock deal with United. After it had gone through, just nine months after he'd arrived, Cantona hit back. 'Wilkinson is just covering himself with these accusations. I was loved at Leeds. Now the fans smash windows and he does not know how to stop it, so he accuses me.'
The £1.2m fee meant a profit of £300,000. The fans were devastated, but Wilkinson was glad to recoup the money and get rid. 'Perhaps he'll have a better chance of first-team games there.' Perhaps. Wilkinson replaced Cantona with £2.9m Brian Deane. The rest is history.
