"If you have only one passion in life - football - and you pursue it to the exclusion of everything else, it becomes very dangerous. When you stop doing this activity, it is as though you are dying. The death of that activity is a death in itself"
About this Quote
The phrasing is blunt, almost clinical: “this activity,” “the death of that activity.” He strips the game of glamour to show how it functions as a life-support machine. Athletes are trained to build a self that is optimized, measurable, and praised on command. The subtext is how little room that leaves for ordinary human elasticity: friendships not tied to the locker room, curiosity that doesn’t translate into performance, intimacy not mediated by status.
Context matters because football doesn’t just employ you; it organizes time, body, and belonging with near-total authority. Cantona is pointing at the withdrawal symptoms built into that system: when the schedule disappears, so does the dopamine pipeline of competition, the ritualized validation, the clear rules for “winning” at being yourself. His final line reframes retirement as mourning, not nostalgia - grief for an identity that dies on a fixed date, whether you’re ready or not.
Quote Details
| Topic | Sports |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Cantona, Eric. (2026, February 16). If you have only one passion in life - football - and you pursue it to the exclusion of everything else, it becomes very dangerous. When you stop doing this activity, it is as though you are dying. The death of that activity is a death in itself. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-you-have-only-one-passion-in-life-football-132446/
Chicago Style
Cantona, Eric. "If you have only one passion in life - football - and you pursue it to the exclusion of everything else, it becomes very dangerous. When you stop doing this activity, it is as though you are dying. The death of that activity is a death in itself." FixQuotes. February 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-you-have-only-one-passion-in-life-football-132446/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"If you have only one passion in life - football - and you pursue it to the exclusion of everything else, it becomes very dangerous. When you stop doing this activity, it is as though you are dying. The death of that activity is a death in itself." FixQuotes, 16 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-you-have-only-one-passion-in-life-football-132446/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
