The 5 most influential players in Manchester United history

#1 Eric Cantona

While he only starred for United for a brief period – five seasons before his shock retirement in 1997 – no United player had quite as much influence on the club – and the English game in general – as ‘King Eric’.

His arrival signalled the beginning of United’s dominance in the 1990’s, as he helped them to win the inaugural Premier League title and then a further three titles, as well as two FA Cups. But his influence went beyond trophies.

Prior to Cantona’s rise to stardom at United, foreign players – particularly flair players - were widely distrusted in the English game, but it was the French star who opened the floodgates and allowed the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Gianfranco Zola and Jurgen Klinsmann to succeed in the Premier League.

Above anyone else, Cantona turned the English game into a truly continental one, shaping its future.

While he was involved in some unsavoury incidents during his time at United – most notably the kung-fu kick that saw him sidelined for most of 1994/95 – off the pitch, he was a tremendous role model for United’s younger players like David Beckham and Paul Scholes, who have stated that they learned about true discipline by witnessing Cantona practicing alone on the training ground for hours after his teammates had left.

His performance in the 1995/96 season – when he practically single-handedly wrestled the Premier League title from the grasp of Newcastle United to return it to Old Trafford – remains probably the greatest achievement from a single player in the Premier League era.

Nobody had the kind of impact that Eric Cantona did on a club and most likely, nobody ever will again.