Cantona interview: May 2004

achievement in life? (Todd Shenk)
I am very proud about the time I spent after football. I am very proud about the man I am today. I wasn’t sure how it would work out. Even though I felt I was prepared to finish playing football, I was never totally sure how it would be. I didn’t know if I would be happy after football. 

How do you think you have changed?
You don’t change - your life around you changes. Everything is different. You don’t go to training every morning; you don’t prepare for a game on a Wednesday or a Saturday; you don’t have that adrenalin rush of playing in a game two times a week. It’s like a drug. Something you need to have. It’s not easy because one day you wake up and you are no longer a player. For 20 years, since I was ten years old, I trained every day. And then one day it is another life. I am very proud about this turnaround, this new life that I have. I took it well, like Schumacher going round a corner in Formula One!

Was it difficult to adapt to your life not being centred around football? (Andrew Walsh, Edinburgh)
It takes time. But, you are not a man from another planet. Sometimes famous people think they are from another planet. If you think that too strongly, it will be very difficult. You have to say, ‘take it easy, it is only for ten years’. Afterwards it is another life and then you are just like everybody else.

Which famous person would you most like to meet for dinner? (Mike Wilce, Southampton)
I prefer to spend dinner with my friends or my family. You can only be disappointed by meeting your idol. If it is your idol then it is always better in your mind than in real life. You dream to meet your idol, but the day you have dinner with them you will be disappointed. Even if they are a great person, it is a disappointing because in your mind it is always better.

Which is your favourite place in the world? (Michael Ireland, Bury)
[Pauses]