Eric Cantona: It’s been 25 years since the mercurial Frenchman joined Manchester United and we take a look back at his controversial career

BELIEVE it or not, it's been 25 years since Sir Alex Ferguson signed a certain Eric Cantona for Manchester United.

On November 16, 1992, the mercurial French forward - now 51 - called time on his brief stint with reigning First Division champions Leeds United to team up with United.

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While hardly a record-breaking move at the time, that 45-mile journey changed the face of Premier League football forever.

We take a look at Cantona's headline-making career, from stunning goals to that kung fu kick to his thoughts on seagulls and trawlers.

Having spent his youth career - and first few seasons between 1983 and 1988 as a professional - at Auxerre, Cantona moved to Marseille for the 1988-89 campaign, before joining Nimes in 1991.

After just half a season at the southern France side, Cantona moved to Leeds for the second half of the season where he helped the Elland Road outfit win the First Division crown.

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Just a few months into the first ever Premier League season - in 1992-93 - Cantona made the short trip to Old Trafford to put pen to paper on a deal bringing him to Manchester United.

Just like his Leeds stint, Cantona had an instant impact, netting nine times in the second-half of the season to lead Fergie's men to the first ever Premier League title - ahead of now-Championship duo Aston Villa and Norwich.

When the Scot boss brought Cantona to the club, finding the net had been a real problem, as the Old Trafford club started to fall behind big-spending Villa and Blackburn.

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But Cantona was the catalyst for a mid-late season charge, with United ultimately winning the league by ten points.

The 1993-94 season however, was truly the one to remember for Cantona - helping Man United win the Premier League-FA Cup double, finish as runners-up in the League Cup and getting his hands on the PFA Player of the Year award.

However, just as it appeared Cantona could do no wrong, his unpredictable nature sprung to the surface, as the 1994-95 season saw the Frenchman 'kung fu-kick' a Crystal Palace fan on January 25, 1995.

Having been sent off for a pull on Richard Shaw's shirt, Cantona reacted poorly to Eagles fan Matthew Simmons' antagonising comments.

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Simmons charged 11 rows down to the pitch-side and allegedly barked: "F*** off back to France, you French motherf***er."

Retribution from Cantona was swift and unnecessarily violent, as he launched, studs-first, into Simmons.

Cantona was sentenced to two weeks in prison - although was later freed on bail and ordered to undergo 120 hours of community service, as well as being fined £20,000 and banned from first-team action for the rest of the season by the FA.

But what did the Frenchman have to say for himself?

Now, over 22 years later, and everyone is still trying to figure it out: "When the seagulls follow the trawlers, it's because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea."

It took a while for the French forward to regain his form following his ban, but ultimately he played a key role in leading United to yet another league-cup double.

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"He illuminated Old Trafford. The place was a frenzy every time he touched the ball."

Sir Alex Ferguson

In fact, Cantona was handed the captain's armband for the 1996-97 season after Steve Bruce left for Birmingham - with United once again winning the league, his sixth top flight title in seven seasons, including spells at Leeds and Marseille.

That season saw arguably his most-celebrated goal; that special chip against Sunderland in a 5-0 drubbing in December.

At the end of the season, Cantona announced his retirement from football, aged just 30.

In under five years, he had scored 80 goals for the club, including 64 in the Premier League.

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During his career, Cantona also earned 45 international caps with France, scoring 20 times, bringing his total career statistics to 485 games played and 185 goals scored.

The Frenchman would go on to play international beach football for a few years, before being named the New York Cosmos director of football in 2011 - only to be sacked for confrontation with a photographer.

If that isn't Cantona's mercurial career in a nutshell, I don't know what is...