UEFA to honor former Manchester United forward Cantona

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - The European football's governing body UEFA is set to honor former Manchester United player Eric Cantona with the 2019 UEFA President's Award.

"All hail King Eric: an inspiration on and off the pitch,” UEFA said on its website to honor 53-year-old Cantona for his contributions to football.

"Just over 22 years after he retired from football, former Manchester United forward Eric Cantona has received the UEFA President's Award from Aleksander Ceferin for his outstanding contribution to the game," it added.

Cantona will receive his award during the UEFA Champions League group stage draw on Thursday in Monaco.

"This award not only recognizes your career as a great player with unique talent, incomparable style and undeniable charisma, it also honors you for the person you are and have become: a man who refuses compromise, stands up for his values, speaks his mind and, in particular, puts his heart and soul into supporting the causes he believes in," UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said.

"Eric Cantona was special, he had an aura about him, he is the king of Old Trafford and that's the way he should always be remembered," former Manchester United midfielder David Beckham said.

In addition Manchester United's ex-manager Sir Alex Ferguson paid tribute to Cantona.

"If ever there was one player, anywhere in the world, that was made for Manchester United, it was Cantona. He swaggered in, stuck his chest out, raised his head and surveyed everything as though he were asking: 'I'm Cantona. How big are you?'" Ferguson remarked.

Cantona played for several French clubs such as Auxerre, Martigues, Olympique Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier and Nimes and English teams Leeds United and Manchester United.

He retired from football in 1997 while he was 30 years old.

The former French international is a five-time English Premier League winner. He won four Premier League titles with Manchester United and one other with Leeds United.

Cantona also became the French league champion in 1989 and 1991 when he was playing for Olympique Marseille.

Launched in 1998, the UEFA President's Award is a prestigious annual award given to football figures contributing to the game's development and success.

The 2018 winner of this award was English star Beckham, who played for European heavyweights Manchester United, Real Madrid, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain as well as Los Angeles Galaxy in the U.S.