Following an intense disagreement with Cameroon’s football chief Samuel Eto’o, Andre Onana considered quitting the Africa Cup of Nations and returning to Manchester United.
The argument caused the United goalkeeper great distress as it resulted in his absence from Cameroon’s crucial 3-2 win over Gambia.
In spite of his strained relationship with Eto’o, Onana has chosen to remain with the Cameroon group and play for them, even though he isn’t starting right now.
Fabrice Ondoa has been named the team’s goalkeeper in place of Onana, who is expected to sit on the bench for the next round of 16 match against Nigeria.
His participation in Manchester United’s Premier League draw with Tottenham on January 14 prevented him from playing in Cameroon’s first group match.
After boarding a private jet to join the Cameroon squad, Onana scored a late goal to salvage a 3-1 defeat for Senegal. But he missed the last group match against Gambia because he was blamed for two of the goals. The choice caused friction between Onana and Eto’o, a striker who had previously played for Chelsea and Barcelona.
Witnesses from Cameroon told the Daily Star that the argumeđťš—t between Eto’o and Onana became violent, with both međťš— shouting. The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar was a turning point in their relationship because it was during that tournament that Onana was returned home.
Andre Onana appears to be a news magnet, for better or worse; yet, his bad luck tends to outweigh his good fortune.
Without Onana, Manchester United will not be able to field their first team this season in Sunday’s FA Cup fourth round match against Newport County of League Two. Erik ten Hag will be in charge of the team. The weekend will see the Manchester United debut of Altay Bayindir.