Eric Cantona: 'Spain did not win the World Cup, Catalonia did'

Never far removed from European politics, Eric Cantona was at it again on Tuesday, insisting that it was Spain's autonomous community of Catalonia that won the 2010 World Cup rather than Spain.

Speaking ahead of the Laureus Sports Awards in Shanghai, Cantona credited Spain's first-ever World Cup title to Catalonia due to the fact that a significant portion of their squad from the competition featured for Barcelona.

His comments come at a time where Catalonian independence is a hot topic in Spain, as only five months have passed since more than two million people voted in an independence referendum that the Spanish government claimed was illegal and an act of propaganda.

"Catalonia won the World Cup," Cantona said, according to the Guardian. "Spain won it with 10 Barcelona players in the team. Spain did not win the World Cup, Catalonia did. Barcelona won it. I'm sure that as soon as the youth set-up from Barcelona and other Spanish teams draw new, good players, Spain will emerge again."

It should be noted that Spain's 2010 World Cup squad actually featured seven players from Barcelona, eight if David Villa - who reached an agreement with the Catalan club ahead of the tournament - is counted. And of those eight players, seven started in the World Cup final.

Keep it relevant, Cantona.