Eric Cantona, the fabled former Football player from Manchester United, is in love withPortugal.
He is on the spotlight of Portuguese and European press, after moving to the Iberian country. In an interview to the Portuguese Euronews, he revealed that he is living in Lisbon, because "everything he likes is there." He also said that he came toPortugal, and so he knew well the Algarve (around Portimão) and the city of Figueira da Foz. Eventually, he started discovering Lisbon and "fell in love" with the city. In a very positive way, he added that Lisbon is the Rio de Janeiro of Europe.
Cantona, the movie actor
The participation of the "enfant terrible" in movies is not new, as he doing it for almost twenty years. His most recent experience is at the movie "Marie et les Naufragés", a comedy by the French director Sébastien Betbeder.
He spoke with Portuguese media as the new movie was being presented in the "17th Festival of French Cinema", ongoing in Portugal until next November 13. However, the Portuguese reporters seemed to be more interested in Cantona's moving for their country than in his cinema ventures.
Sábado de #CineEnCasa con TV5MONDE: MARIE ET LES NAUFRAGÉS 18:30(MX) 20:30(BA) #Comedia #Aventura #Amistad pic.twitter.com/8LYOPP2VKP
— TV5MONDE Latina (@TV5MondeLatina) August 20, 2016
He added that he loves every Portuguese food, and also the wine; he showed himself as a "connoisseur" when he referred the Barca Velha 2004, praising the bottling of the wine only after 8 years in a cask, and only if it is good.
Sporting Lisbon: Cantona's new passion
The former number 7 of Manchester United also revealed that he is still quite interested in football, and he already chose his Portuguese club: Sporting Lisbon. He told reporters that we watched both Benfica and Sporting Lisbon games, and in the end both he and his son went for "The Lions", as the club is known.
Cantona recalls the history of the club and the role of the youth talent, listing all the names that were raised here, like Figo, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani, and so on. The Frenchman underlined that, now, he understands better the way Ronaldo - one of his successors at United - plays, the pleasure he takes from it, and how his personality developed.
The club's full name is "Sporting Clube de Portugal", as its founders intended to create a national club. Internationally known as "Sporting Lisbon", to indicate their city of origin, The Lions are trying to change this, in order to been seen abroad as "Sporting of Portugal".
Back in 2014, financial media Bloomberg was aware that there was a movement of French people, mainly retired, moving away from France's taxes and social turmoil and relocating into Portugal, investing in real estate. Eric Cantona is now the latest adherent, and the most famous, of this trend.
