text: Eric Cantona claimed Manchester United are ‘kings of the city’ again after their derby victory on Sunday and the club legend believes they have found the right man in Louis van Gaal to drive them to the Premier League title next year. The former United striker made a rare foray into football matters at the Laureus Sports Awards in Shanghai and spoke about diverse subjects, ranging from soft porn – in defence of his latest film – to his old side’s changing fortunes. Cantona once professed his desire to be the manager at Old Trafford but has changed his mind, predicting United would recapture their old dominance under Van Gaal. He also said the onus they put on developing young players in their academy gives them the edge over City in the long run. Manchester United legend Eric Cantona believes they are 'kings of the city' after beating Manchester City . The former United captain believes the Red Devils can win the league next year too under Louis van Gaal . Cantona was speaking at the Laureus Sports Awards in Shanghai on Tuesday . Cantona was in Shanghai with Carles Puyol (back row, centre left) and Fabio Capello (back row, centre right) Puyol (left) and Capello (right) talk to with Louis Saha during the Laureus Shanghai Football Campus Tour . Former Holland and AC Milan star Ruud Gullit shows off his skills during Tuesday's Campus Tour . CLICK HERE to read Sportsmail's Neil Ashton's piece on how Eric Cantona turned his back on football to preach about Islamophobia... and star in soft porn films. ‘The derby's a special game, so it's great to win the derby. I was proud and very glad. It's good because now they are the kings of the city again,’ said Cantona, ‘City have won the league twice, so they have been successful but they cannot win every year because the Premier League is so strong, it has so many clubs, so many rich clubs. ‘Some of them work on the young players and can buy the best players in the world, like United. I prefer this kind of club, who are rich enough to buy the best players they want, and also works on young players. ‘United is a great club, so sometimes you have a season when you have to lose games and you finish fourth, fifth. But they came back and next year they can win the league. With a manager from Holland, it seems to be important for Manchester United because it's the same kind of philosophy for the game: Holland and Manchester United.’ Cantona famously turned his back on football aged 30 having made 185 appearances in the red shirt of United and has forged a successful acting career. His latest film You And The Night was dubbed ‘soft porn’ because of explicit sex scenes but Cantona defended his role. The former France international believes Van Gaal's philosophy is a perfect fit for Old Trafford . Marouane Fellaini (left) scored United's second goal in their 4-2 win over City on Sunday afternoon . United have won their last six Premier League games - moving them up to third in the table . Cantona has defended his role in latest film, dubbed as 'soft porn', called You And The Night . ‘Porn? No, it's not porn,’ he said, ‘It's a piece of art. It's just a piece of art. But you can see it like this. It's beautiful. You should see it. Unfortunately, porn is not so aesthetic and so beautiful. But love is sex also, you know? This kind of story for the ones who have seen it - I'm sure nobody has seen it - it's too beautiful. This kind of story, when you choose to do it, you have to know the director. If it's somebody special, if it's a real artist, you can do it. You can give, and be confident enough.’ The incident Cantona will be remembered for by many in England happened on January 25, 1995, when he launched a kung-fu kick at Crystal Palace supporter Matthew Simmons in the moments after he had been sent off. He was banned from English football by the FA for eight months and ordered to carry out 120 hours of community service after he was found guilty of assault at Croydon Magistrates Court. But with a quick adjustment of his baker boy cap and a smile, Cantona said he had no regrets. ‘The kung-fu kick, it was great, too,’ he said, ‘I think the good thing from that is, through me, everybody can realise, in your life, you can do good things and bad things. I've done things I'm proud about and I've done some bad things that I don't regret because it's just my life. And if you're happy, it's good. If you're not happy, I don't care. Nobody will teach me how to behave myself.’ Cantona served an eight-month ban following his infamous kung-fu kick at a Crystal Palace fan in 1995 . Cantona (right) was found guilty of assault at Croydon Magistrates Court but says he has no regrets about it . Cantona enjoyed a trophy-laden spell at Old Trafford during his 185 appearances at the club .
target: Manchester United beat rivals Manchester City 4-2 in the league on Sunday .
  Victory moves third-placed United four points clear of City in the table .
  Eric Cantona adds Man Utd are more dedicated to youth than City .
  Gary Neville: Louis van Gaal has worked wonders with Wayne Rooney .
  Rooney: Marouane Fellaini one of the most dangerous forwards in Europe .