• Former director of soccer files NY lawsuit • Frenchman was fired after scuffle in London

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Eric Cantona is suing the New York Cosmos, alleging the team fired him without paying him nearly $1m (£714,000) in salary and a 4% equity interest.

The Frenchman, 48, who won four Premier League titles in five years with Manchester United in the 1990s, was hired by the Cosmos in 2011 to be the team’s director of soccer.

He was fired by the Cosmos after getting into a scuffle with a photographer in London last year for which he was cautioned and Cantona alleges the club never paid him $961,290 in salary he was owed.

The Cosmos did not immediately comment on the lawsuit, filed on Tuesday in Manhattan federal court.