Former New York Cosmos Director of Soccer Eric Cantona has bemoaned the redevelopment of the Estádio do Maracanã.
The stadium, which is based in Rio de Janeiro, has been upgraded for next month’s World Cup, but Cantona feels that true Brazilian football fans are being pushed out by the changes.
"I have been in Maracanã before and I loved Maracanã," he said, as reported by The Guardian. "[But] now it is just a stadium like the Emirates Stadium, or Stade de France. And they say: ‘It’s a revolution for us, we have to educate the people to sit.’ But they don’t want to sit, they just want to stand up and sing and dance.
“Those who want to sing and dance can’t afford to go any more. So they don’t educate them, they just throw them away and bring [in] people who can pay for the tickets."
Cantona scored 20 goals in 45 appearances for France at international level, but never played at a World Cup. The closest he got was in 1994, when Les Blues missed out on qualification after losing 2-1 to Bulgaria.
