Eric Cantona launches singing career and teases debut single

Football legend Eric Cantona has turned his sights to a career in music, and teased his debut single.

The former Manchester United icon announced his new project on Instagram yesterday (May 25), where he shared a preview of the music video for his upcoming single – showing the player in a Shakespearean pose as he holds a model of his own head and sings, “Watch yourself in the mirror – someone you hate, someone you love“. Check it out below.

Set for release next Friday (June 2) via Decca, the new track was written and composed by Cantona, and marks his first official release as a musician. “I’m going to release my first single,” he simply wrote in the caption, directing his followers to visit his website for more information.

On the page, fans are encouraged to join the CantonaSingsEric club, where they can create their own membership card, and receive access to meet and greet opportunities and “privileged access” to live events.

In celebration of his newly-launched singing career, Cantona has also announced three upcoming live shows in the UK and Ireland. Kicking off in Manchester on October 26, the first show of the ‘Cantona Sings Eric’ tour will take place at Stoller Hall, while the second will take place in London’s Bloomsbury Theatre two days later (October 28).

From there, he will venture over to Ireland for a show in Dublin’s Liberty Hall Theatre on October 31.

“Next year, I’ll be playing with a band, but for now, I’m starting with a modest piano to play alongside me in intimate venues,” he said, speaking on the tour announcement. “I’ll be starting in Manchester because it’s a city that has stayed with me so much for the football, of course, but also the general atmosphere.”

Presale for the shows will start next Wednesday (31 May) at 10am BST and general sale will arrive at the same time on Friday (June 2) — visit here for tickets and more information.

While the upcoming track will be the first official music to be replaced by the Manchester United star, it isn’t the first time that he has openly shown his love of music.

Back at the beginning of 2020, Cantona took the starring role in the video for Liam Gallagher‘s song, ‘Once’. The footage saw the cult football hero living up to his nickname – The King.

His appearance in the music video came after he uploaded a video of himself singing along to the track by the former Oasis frontman, and hailed the song to be his favourite of 2019.

In 2018, he also joined The Libertines and Patti Smith on stage at a benefit concert for Palestine.