Eric Cantona breaks 30-year silence on infamous Manchester United 'seagulls and sardines' press conference

Eric Cantona has finally explained the infamous 'seagulls follow the trawler' speech that has baffled the footballing world for almost 30 years.

Cantona gave an incredibly confusing statement to the media after an FA hearing into his notorious kung-fu kick on an abusive Crystal Palace fan back in 1995. The Manchester United man was sent off on a tough night at Selhurst Park and saw red in more ways than one, leaping over the advertising boards and attacking the supporter.

The Frenchman saw a two-week prison sentence for assault suspended and was banned until the end of the season, with the club encouraging him to speak at the time in a bid to ease the media storm. But if anything, it only got worse when Cantona spoke of seagulls, trawlers and sardines.

Speculation as to what he meant has never truly died down and that speech has become one of the most famous moments in Premier League history. But after staying silent for so long, Cantona has revealed it actually meant nothing at all.

“After the [court] judgement they [Manchester United] absolutely wanted me to speak to the press," Cantona told popular French chatshow C dans l’air. “I didn’t want to but they said it’s important you have to speak to the press. So I said 'okay 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.

“You know, they [the press] destroyed me. But in a way I have had my revenge. They were all trying to find a meaning and they all asked me to explain and I said nothing.”

Cantona has rarely shown remorse for his actions, even singling out the kung-fu kick as one of his favourite moments in a United shirt. Since retiring from football, the enigmatic forward has tried his hand at acting, photography, documentary-making and most recently singing.