Manchester United great Eric Cantona says moving to England saved his career.
Cantona was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson after winning the last First Division title with Leeds in 1992. He went on to win four Premier Leagues and two FA Cups before retiring out of the blue and walking away from the game.
Having arrived in England already with a difficult reputation, Cantona credits Ferguson with saving his career.
Cantona said in Fever Pitch: The Rise of the Premier League: "I don't know what he has, a great psychology.
"A great manager, a great psychologist. Yes. But it was also like love.
"I knew with him I could express myself and I didn't want to know more.
"I don't want to know why I love my wife. Love is not intellectual, it's instinctual. You just feel those things.
"I didn't know a lot about English football when I arrived. In my time we didn't have a lot of games on TV. But in England I knew everybody wanted to play the game to win. In other countries they play not to lose.
"England was special and it was more than football. It was like the players were rock stars, you know.
"England is special in football, it's special in music. It's special in a lot of things. They could accept someone who is a bit different. He can be accepted and loved also.
"I came from France where they expected us all to be the same. You know, like thousands of sheep on the land.
"I am not talking about skin colour but if you are the one black sheep, they don't give you a chance to express yourself. They want to manipulate you.
"I was able to express myself in England.
"If we love Jim Morrison, it's because he was different. If we love Kurt Cobain, it's because he was different. The same with Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix or Arthur Rimbaud or Marlon Brando.
"It's what I searched for my whole life before I arrived in England and in England the people helped me express myself."