Man Utd legend Eric Cantona finally breaks silence on meaning of bizarre ‘seagulls’ rant after 30-YEAR silence
FANS and pundits alike have been scratching their heads for almost 30 years trying to figure out what on earth Eric Cantona was talking about during his bizarre seagull rant.
The Manchester United legend spouted the seemingly nonsensical monologue when he was asked to explain his infamous “kung-fu kick” on a fan in 1995.
Cantona was always known to be an elaborate character both with the ball at his feet and during his time off the pitch.
But it still didn’t stop mass confusion when he explained his fan attack, which saw him banned for NINE MONTHS, by discussing seagulls.
He said: “When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.”
Laughter and noises of confusion followed in the press room when Cantona uttered the strange proverb some 29 years ago.
But the 57-year-old has finally broken his silence on his unbelievable response – claiming it was in fact just nonsense.
Speaking on French TV ‘C dans l’air’, he said: “I didn’t want to but (Manchester United) said it’s important you have to speak to the press.
“So I said, OK I will speak to the press, in the sense that they want me to speak – I’ll say any old thing.
“You know, (the press) destroyed me. But in a way I have had my revenge. They were all trying to find a meaning and they all asked me to explain and I said nothing.”
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He later added: “They wanted me to speak, I spoke. It just came out and then I left. And the press, they all tried to find a sense to it and make it all philosophical.
“You know, it just came out like that; maybe it came from my subconscious and maybe unconsciously it created a sense, but the best sense of it was, you make me speak, I speak and who cares whether the words make sense.”
Back in 1995, when Cantona launched the flying kick on Crystal Palace fan Matthew Simmons after being sent off during the game for United, he was handed more than just a nine month ban from football.
In fact the former France international was initially given a two-week prison sentence for his anger-fuelled attack, but later saw his punishment reduced to just 120 hours of community service following an appeal.
Now “The King” has since branched his career out into acting and singing in an unusual switch from his days on the pitch.