The former Manchester United forward was speaking in Cannes at the premiere of a documentary about his life and career, presented at the Palais des Festivals as part of the film festival alongside stars including John Travolta and Demi Moore. It marked a rare and candid public appearance for a man who retired from football at 31 and has since built an acting career.
Cantona's time in France before his arrival in England in 1992 had been defined by volatility. He left Auxerre, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nîmes and Montpellier in succession, rarely departing on his own terms. Leeds United signed him and Ferguson bought him from them months later, but even the United manager's patience had limits.
"At one time, he wanted to let me go, but his wife convinced him to continue with me."
Cantona also revealed the advice Ferguson had received from Guy Roux, the manager who had worked with him as a teenager at Auxerre.
"Guy Roux advised: 'You have to love him and, if you give him this love, he will give you his life in return.' My relationship with Alex Ferguson might have been a film script. It could have been a story of love."
The bond held, even after the Kung Fu kick at Crystal Palace in January 1995 that earned Cantona an eight-month ban from football and remains the most notorious incident of his playing career. Cathy Ferguson, who died in 2020 after a long illness, was the quiet force behind one of the most significant decisions in the club's history.
Cantona won four Premier League titles and two FA Cups at United before announcing his retirement in 1997, still in his prime and with no warning that it was coming. He explained the decision at Cannes in the same terms he has always used.
"I had lost the flame. I could not stand the bit of an empty feeling, the space for the devil to find a home. When I have lived such intense moments as a player, I could not put up with feeling the motor turning over more slowly."