Current Manchester United stars such as Cameroon’s Bryan Mbeumo and Côte d’Ivoire’s Amad Diallo will doubtless have their views on Sir Jim’s intervention. So will its French former icon, Eric Cantona – another coloniser whose genius generated a memorable outpouring of francophilia on the red side of Manchester. Representatives of the club’s many Muslim followers have already given theirs, questioning whether they should feel welcome in United’s Old Trafford stadium.