Footy legend Eric Cantona has admitted his 'seagulls follow the trawler' quote was a load of balls he made up because he did not want to give an interview.
For almost 30 years amateur philosophers, psychologists and journalists have scratched their heads over what the former Manchester United star meant when he fired off what has become one of the most famous statements in sport. He told a press conference: "When the seagulls follow the trawler it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea."
Now Cantona, 57, has finally come clean and admitted what lay behind the mystical message. It was the first thing that came into his head - and complete gobbledegook.
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The footballer turned photographer, actor, documentary maker, sports coach, poet and now singer made his seemingly profound statement after being ordered to speak to the press to explain his notorious kung-fu kick on an abusive Crystal Palace fan after being sent off at Selhurst Park in 1995.
Cantona was banned until the end of the season and narrowly avoided being sent to jail for assault after a two-week prison sentence was reduced to community service.
Is Eric Cantona's seagulls speech the most iconic in football? Let us know in the comments section
Headlines screamed 'the night football died of shame' and accused him of 'absolute thuggery in front of children' while outspoken former Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough said he would have 'cut his balls off'.
The kick was shown 93 times on TV over the following two days. Cantona told French chat show C dans l’air he plucked the quote from the air after he escaped jail and United 'absolutely wanted me to speak to the press'.
"I didn’t want to but they said, 'It’s important you have to speak to the press'," he said. "So I said, 'OK I will speak to the press in the sense that they want me to speak - I’ll say any old thing'.
"They wanted me to speak, I spoke. It just came out and then I left. And the press, they all tried to find a sense to it and make it all philosophical.
"You know, it just came out like that. Maybe it came from my subconscious and maybe unconsciously it created a sense. But the best sense of it was, 'You make me speak, I speak and who cares whether the words make sense'."
Cantona - who scored 82 goals for United, won four league titles and two doubles - said the puzzle over his words was 'revenge' for the negative headlines. "In a way I have had my revenge,’’ he said.
"They were all trying to find a meaning and they all asked me to explain and I said nothing." The seagulls and sardines feature in his song I Love You So Much from his recently released album Cantona sings Eric. It is dedicated to the fans who supported him throughout his ordeal.
"I wanted to give something back. Manchester in the 1990s was Manchester United," he said. "We were rock stars. I grew up, spent time with the club that succeeded and won after 26 years without titles. It was such a hopeful town and still is now."
The star said of the song: "I sing then the press called me the greatest philosopher'. And I think they were completely right. And they were right."
