THERE'S A GHOST IN MY HOUSE

Last updated : 20 December 2004 By editor

The fishal site ignores the furore over him swearing:

'Delighted MUTV viewers on Sunday night as he answered calls, texts and e-mails live in the official club channel’s studio at Old Trafford.

In a special one-off programme, the Frenchman looked back on his four and a half-year tenure with the club and picked out United’s first Championship triumph under Sir Alex Ferguson back in May 1993 as the most memorable highlight of a hugely successful career with the Reds.

"There have been a lot of great moments at the club," explained Cantona. "When we won the league with a new generation of players [in 1996] was a great moment, but for me the best one was when we won the Championship for the first time - it was a fantastic feeling. I will always look back on the game against Sheffield Wednesday towards the end of that season when Steve Bruce scored twice in the last few minutes as a great moment and an important one during that season."

Hats off to the website though for reporting Eric's candid comments about the reasons for his departure:

"When I first came to United everything was about football," recalls Cantona. "But at that point in time the business became more important than the football. I could not accept that I was unable to control my image. I spoke to the important people at the club two or three times about this but nothing changed."

That, together with passion I lost for the game, meant I didn’t want to fight any more and give all I had – football was no longer the most important thing to the club. I do not regret it [retiring]," he adds. "Sometimes I dream about coming back. But to play you need to train all the time, watch what you eat and also what time you go bed. To do that you need to have the passion of a young player and concentrate 100 per cent on football. I didn’t have that same passion and I felt like I had lost something. It was difficult but it was right to finish."