A blunt TikTok rant
Eric Cantona has not held back. In a video posted on TikTok, the Manchester United icon settled old scores with Jim Ratcliffe, the owner of Ineos and the club’s real power broker since he arrived. “Could I have signed for Manchester United in my day with Ratcliffe in charge? No. Of course not,” said the Frenchman, United’s former No 7 between 1992 and 1997.
And he did not stop there. Cantona went straight at Ratcliffe over comments he has made about immigration in the UK. “I don’t understand how someone like that can say something like that when he owns a football club,” he snapped.
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A sharp reminder of the club’s history
For Cantona, the point is simple, almost self-evident. “All the greatest players come from different waves of immigration. Everywhere, in France, in England, everywhere,” he said. It was his way of reminding people that Manchester United, like most of Europe’s biggest clubs, was built in large part by players who came from elsewhere — starting with him.
The Frenchman’s attack comes at a time when things are already tense at Old Trafford. Ratcliffe has overseen 450 job cuts in recent months, along with ticket price rises that have upset a chunk of the fanbase. Unsurprisingly, those decisions have only fuelled the anger aimed at the British billionaire.
An irony nobody missed
Perhaps the strangest part is this. Ratcliffe has repeatedly named Cantona as his favourite player of all time. It is a one-sided admiration, clearly, and the former striker showed no interest in returning the favour as he went in so hard on social media.
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