Manchester United and Leeds face off this weekend and a lot has changed for the two fierce rivals in recent years

As Manchester United prepare to take on Leeds United in the Premier League this weekend, the 1990s title battles between the pair couldn't seem further away. Leeds sit a creditable seventh as they aim to avoid second-season syndrome following their 2025 promotion back to the top flight, while their rivals languish in 13th.

If you go back more than three decades, though, these teams were the two to beat at the summit of English football. The Yorkshire side pipped their rivals to the 1991/92 title - the last before the old First Division made way for the shiny new Premier League - while the roles were reversed in 1992/93.

Part of the reason for that turnaround was Eric Cantona's decision to trade Leeds for Manchester in November 1992. However, the French forward - now 60 - couldn't see himself playing at Old Trafford had United's current ownership been in charge at the time.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the billionaire part-owner of the Manchester club, courted controversy with comments about immigration in September. This didn't sit well with Cantona, who made his feelings clear.

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"No, of course not," Cantona told Pete Boyle on TikTok when asked if he could see himself signing for a Ratcliffe-owned United. "You know what I think about all of this, with this kind of politics. I cannot understand how someone like this can say something like that when he's one of the club's owners.

"Football is a very popular sport. Football is made - all the greatest players come from different waves of immigration. Everywhere, in France, in England, everywhere. In France, for instance, the greatest players all come from different waves of immigration. I made a documentary on that, French Football: An Immigrant History.

"Raymond Kopa, in the fifties, was the son of Polish immigrants who came to France, worked in France, and worked hard in France. And then the Italians, Italians like Platini. And then the Spanish, like me, my mother came from Spanish refugees. I cannot accept this kind of thing."

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United finished third in the Premier League last season, their best showing on the pitch since Ratcliffe took a minority stake in the club midway through the 2023/24 campaign. However, things have proved tougher this season.

Michael Carrick was appointed as permanent manager after a successful interim spell last term but his team have picked up just six points from their first six league matches. They also suffered an early elimination from the Carabao Cup after throwing away a 2-0 lead against Brighton and were beaten by Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.

The midweek reverse means more than a month has passed since their last win, in their European opener at home to Sabah. Leeds have lost just once in the league, with that defeat coming away to reigning champions Arsenal last weekend.