Manchester United legend Eric Cantona has made his feelings clear Glazer family’s ownership by becoming co-owner of FC United of Manchester. The non-league club was born from fans’ discontent with the Glazers’ reign at Old Trafford.
FC United emerged as a fan alternative following the controversial Glazer takeover in 2005 and has since established its own identity, with a stadium situated just seven miles from the Theatre of Dreams.
The anti-Glazer sentiment was palpable earlier this month when FC United supporters and The 1958, a group of United fans, staged a protest during a match against Stockton Town. The demonstration saw flares in both FC and United colours, as well as green and yellow, the colours of Newton Heath, the original club name of Man Utd. Chants demanding the Glazers’ exit were also sung, accompanied by a ‘GLAZERS OUT’ banner.
Cantona’s commitment to FC United was confirmed after a recent 1-1 draw with Mickleover, where he was seen signing his contract in a video shared by the club. “The Cantona family, we are all members of United FC. All the people from all around the world should be members of United FC because it’s a great club,” declared Cantona.
This development follows Cantona’s previous call for fan unity to oust the Glazers, an idea he discussed with The Athletic in 2022, advocating for a fan ownership model akin to that of FC United.
Cantona, who also claimed he was snubbed for a club president role at Old Trafford, stated: “Yes, maybe [it is time for them to go].
“I thought about something also. This club has on social media hundreds of thousands of fans. If they create an application today saying that 50 per cent of the club can be sold, then why should you have one person or two people who invest £500million?
“Instead, you can have hundreds of millions of people who spend 10 euros, 20 euros, 100 euros, 1,000 euros, and 50 per cent of the club is owned by the real fans of Manchester United.
“With social media now, you would do that like this. But they did not want me to be the president of the club! They did not want me! And the fans have to know that I went and travelled to Manchester to give them the opportunity to succeed in the next decades. And they did not want it.”
