25 years ago, Eric Cantona retired - the letter Fergie sent him afterwards is so good

Eric Cantona is one of the greatest players in Manchester United’s history.

The Frenchman scored 77 goals in 171 appearances at the club, winning four Premier League titles and two FA Cups in five years.

However, ‘King Eric’ shocked everyone by deciding to retire at the end of the 1996-1997 season, aged just 30.

That decision was made 25 years ago this week.

While Sir Alex Ferguson would no doubt have been devastated by the news, he followed it up with a beautifully written letter to his former player a few months later.

It wasn’t the usual manager to player chat. There was no ‘Thank you for your service. Happy retirement.’

Instead, it’s a candid insight into the incredible relationship between Fergie and Cantona.

Take a look at the letter below:

25 years ago today Eric Cantona announced his retirement. Here's a letter that Sir Alex sent him a few mths later. pic.twitter.com/6HJdIBqRVs

“I felt that I should write to you as a mark of respect and esteem in which I hold you.

“When we started training, I kept waiting for you to turn up as normal but I think that was in hope not realism and I knew in your eyes when we met at Mottram your time at Manchester United was over. Although, I still feel you should have taken both your Father’s and my advice and taken a holiday before making such a major decision.

“One thing, I would like you to remember is to remain active and fit. I always rememeber when I finished at 32 and I started management, I was more concerned about organising training and the coaching of players that I forgot about my own fitness and then when I realised about six years later what was happening I started to train again to recapture my fitness and it was murder, so you do need to keep up your fitness.

“I am