Sir Alex Ferguson's 'worst-ever Man Utd signing' bought himself out of contract to join club

A player recommended to Manchester United by Eric Cantona was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson, but things did not go as planned.

Cast your mind back to the winter of the 1995/96 Premier League season; Ferguson’s United were in the midst of an injury crisis with several big names such as Gary Pallister, Steve Bruce and David May all unavailable after sustaining injuries.

As a result, United were forced to move for a little-known French defender who played for Ligue 1 side Bordeaux.

William Prunier, who was 28 at the time, was overjoyed when Cantona recommended him to the Premier League outfit.

So much so that, according to BBC Sport, he bought himself out of his contract in France.

The defender joined on a trial basis but was thrown into the first team after Denis Irwin suffered a knock.

And things started well when he provided an assist for Andy Cole’s strike during a 2-1 win over Queen Park Rangers on his debut.

However, the same can’t be said for his second appearance. He featured in a makeshift defence - alongside Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Paul Parker - during a 4-1 defeat against Tottenham on January 1, 1996, which proved to be his final appearance for the club before he returned to France.

William Prunier played twice for Man United (Credit:Getty)

A loan at Copenhagen followed before spells at several clubs, including Napoli and Hearts.

The former defender has since explained how the deal come about.

“It was a very enriching experience, a dream and an honour, and I don’t regret it,” Prunier told the Telegraph in 2019.

“I was offered a three-year deal, but there were a lot of protagonists involved, and they couldn't find an agreement,” he added.

Prunier also revealed how the likes of David Beckham and Roy Keane were keen to listen to stories about Cantona as he had been friends with the maverick forward for several years.

“In the dressing room, the players wanted some funny memories about Eric,” Prunier recalled.

“I had plenty but didn’t speak English, so I just told the stories to Eric so he would translate them to the group. But of course, he changed everything during the translation so the team couldn’t make fun of him!”

But it would be safe to assume that Ferguson regrets his choice of signing, as in his 2015 autobiography, 'Leading', Ferguson labelled Prunier as “a disaster”.