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Cantona says he would not have joined Man Utd under Ratcliffe

Eric Cantona said he would never have signed for Manchester United if Sir Jim Ratcliffe had been in charge, following the co-owner's comments on immigration.

  • Cantona said he would not have signed for Manchester United under Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
  • Ratcliffe had previously named Cantona as his favourite United player.
  • Ratcliffe said in a BBC interview that the UK is in decline because nobody is tough enough to deal with the immigration problem.

Manchester United legend Eric Cantona has said he would never have signed for the club if current co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe had been in charge.

The France forward was asked by United fan Pete Boyle on his TikTok channel whether he would have joined under Ratcliffe. Cantona replied: "No, Of course not."

Cantona said: "You know what I think about all of this, with this kind of politics and I cannot understand that someone like this can say something like this when he's one of the owners of the club."

He added: "Football is a very popular sport. Football is made – all the greatest players come from different waves of immigration. Everywhere, in France, in England, everywhere."

The comments follow fresh controversy after Ratcliffe claimed in a BBC interview that the United Kingdom is in decline because "nobody's tough enough to deal with the immigration problem". Ratcliffe had previously identified Cantona as his favourite United player.

Cantona moved to Old Trafford in 1992 from rivals Leeds and helped the club win four Premier League titles in five seasons.

Over the weekend, Ratcliffe said he could see why rich people are leaving the UK, describing the country as "on the slide". He said immigration was "clearly one" issue politicians should focus on, as well as high taxes.

Ratcliffe attracted criticism earlier this year after he said the UK had been "colonised by immigrants". He later issued a statement saying he was sorry if those remarks had "offended some people", with then-prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and then-mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham among those who condemned them.

Why this matters: Cantona's remarks place one of Manchester United's most celebrated players in direct opposition to the club's co-owner over Ratcliffe's public comments on immigration.

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