Cantona: 'Looking For Eric' is universal

Eric Cantona has insisted that Looking For Eric, his film collaboration with acclaimed British director Ken Loach, can reach an audience beyond football fans.

Cantona appears as himself in the movie, offering advice to a down-and-out postman who idolised him while he played for Manchester United.

"It's not only a film about relationships between fans and idols," Cantona said at the UK press conference to promote the film. "It's also a love story, a story of a man who's depressed, has problems in his relationships with his step-children. All the subjects are very universal."

The footballer-turned-actor admitted that he recognised much of his own life in the movie, adding praise for screenwriter Paul Laverty and Loach.

"It's not only for United fans," Cantona explained "It was my experience, when I saw the film for the first time, I felt the same energy I had when I met [fans]. It's why I wanted to work with Ken and Paul. They have a lot of humanity and solidarity in their previous films."

Looking For Eric is released in cinemas this Friday.