‘I can’t believe Howard will let the boy go’
£1m MOVE WAS SETTLED IN JUST HALF AN HOUR
ERIC CANTONA’S move to Manchester United was instigated by a phone call from Leeds managing director Bill Fotherby.
The Frenchman’s relationship with his manager at Elland Road, Howard Wilkinson (inset), had deteriorated and a parting seemed inevitable.
“I rang United about Denis Irwin, who had been at Leeds as a young boy,” said Fotherby. “United chairman Martin Edwards said there was no chance but I asked him to at least speak to Alex (Ferguson).
“Normally I wouldn’t have expected him to ring back.
This time he did, offering me a different player I knew Howard would not be interested in.
“It was then he asked about Eric. I said ‘No way’ and that it was impossible.
“Howard was out house hunting in Leeds. I left it a couple of hours, rang Martin and said, ‘I can’t believe this but Howard is willing to let the boy go’.”
Edwards could not believe his luck. He said: “I was friends with Irving Scholar, the former Tottenham chairman, who lived in Monaco. Whenever we talked he would rave about this lad Cantona. He would say, ‘He’s a player made for United.’
“Having read about the falling out between Howard and Eric, I remembered how important he’d been to Leeds’ title win in 1992.
“If he hadn’t gone there, I am sure we would have won it. Bill was almost too honest for his own good.
“I called Alex and told him of Bill’s enquiry about Irwin. He said ‘No,’ as I expected. And then I said, ‘Would you take Cantona if I could get him?’ Alex replied, ‘Too bloody right I would!’
“Then Bill called to follow up about Irwin. I told him Alex wasn’t having that but we’d take Cantona off his hands, almost as if we were doing him a favour!
“Bill said, ‘We’re open to selling him but we have one problem at our end. He’s very popular. We’ll get slaughtered. Howard will do it but only if we do it very quickly’.”
The negotiation reads like a sitcom script. Edwards: “What do you want for him?” Fotherby: “£1.6m.” Edwards: “I won’t pay that. But we’ll take him off your hands for a million.” Fotherby: “I can’t do a million! I told you I’d get slaughtered. I can’t go any lower than £1.2m.” Edwards: “Bill, I’ll give you a million.” Fotherby: “Well, can I say it’s £1.2m?” Edwards: “You can say what you like.”
When Cantona and his lawyer travelled to the Midland Hotel in Manchester to meet Ferguson and Edwards, his signing was already a formality. “It must have all been done in half an hour,” recalled Ferguson.