Prunier was born in
Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis. He also earned one cap for
France in August 1992, a 2–0 loss to
Brazil. In the 1995–96 season, Prunier had a fleeting and forgettable spell at
Manchester United. Having bought out his contract with Bordeaux, he joined the
Old Trafford club on a trial basis where he was reunited with Cantona. At the time, the manager
Alex Ferguson had been looking for a continental-style defender with good passing skills. However, his arrival coincided with an injury crisis that saw the three first-choice centre-backs
Steve Bruce,
Gary Pallister and
David May all unavailable. Prunier was hastily drafted into the first team, even though Ferguson had originally intended to use him in reserve team matches only during his trial. Prunier made his Manchester United debut against
Queens Park Rangers on 30 December 1995 partnering
Gary Neville in defence. He generally impressed in the match and assisted a goal for
Andy Cole as well as hitting a powerful shot against the bar. His second game against
Tottenham Hotspur on 1 January 1996, however, was a disaster for him and the club. With
Peter Schmeichel injured during the game and
Denis Irwin unavailable, he was part of a makeshift defence that conceded four goals in a humiliating loss. Prunier has ever since been made something of a scapegoat for the defeat, culminating in his being voted the sixth worst Manchester United footballer of all time. Despite the defeat, Ferguson offered him an extended trial, but Prunier declined and decided he would look elsewhere. After leaving Manchester United, Prunier moved on to
Copenhagen in Denmark and also had spells at
Napoli in Italy and
Kortrijk in Belgium before returning to France with
Toulouse where he won the
Ligue 2 title in 2003. After a brief spell in the
United Arab Emirates, he retired from football in 2004 and became a coach at
Cannes. On 4 February 2007, he appeared on
Sky Sports, giving an intro and his point of view on the 4–1 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in 1996. ==Managerial career==