Cantona as Told by Valentin Deudon & Philippe Auclair

Sat 13 June
Books & Ideas
Talks

French poet and football enthusiast, Valentin Deudon revisits Éric Cantona’s 82 Goals, retracing each one scored for Manchester United during a defining era for the club. From the goals that carried United to league titles to the ones only he could score, the book captures what made Cantona such a singular presence on the pitch. Valentin Deudon reflects on the player who shaped a generation of fans and left a lasting mark on English football.

He is joined in conversation by football writer, broadcaster and investigative journalist Philippe Auclair, whose acclaimed biographies include Éric Cantona: The Rebel Who Would Be King (2010), Thierry Henry: Lonely at the Top (2013), both published by Pan Macmillan, and most recently The Mbappé Project: Making a Superstar (Quercus, 2026).

Deudon’s Cantona, une butographie (Robert Laffont) was translated by Ian Monk as Cantona in 82 Goals (Open Borders Press).

Bookings

About our guests

Valentin Deudon is a French poet and a football fanatic. As a child in France, he became fascinated by Éric Cantona and Manchester United. Today, he writes full-time and plays for the N.D.C. Angers veterans’ football team as well as the French national football team for writers.

Philippe Auclair is the England football correspondent for Eurosport.fr and Swiss national radio RTS, and a regular contributor to The Guardian and The Guardian Football Weekly podcast, for which he specialises in governance issues and the geopolitical dimension of football.

  • Picture: Franck Potvin

 
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