Eric Cantona to house and feed a family of refugees for two years

Manchester United legend's decision was encouraged by the fact that his grandparents were refugees

Eric Cantona has said he will house and feed a refugee family for at least two years.

The 49-year-old told French radio station Inter that he was partly encouraged to help refugees as his maternal grandparents were Republican refugees who fled the Franco regime in Spain, crossing the Pyrenees on foot to reach France.

The former footballer said he was currently organising the process with authorities in Marseille, southern France.

He said: “If you house someone who does not have the right to work, then they need to eat too.”

Speaking of his decision, the Manchester United legend said: “I think it’s important, and if it can serve as an example, all the better”.

Cantona played for a number of teams during his career, but it mainly remembered for the role he played in Manchester United becoming England's most successful football club.

He retired from professional football in 1997 and has since enjoyed an acting career on stage and in film.