On This Day

André Onana

Cameroonian footballer (born 1996)

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André Onana Onana (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃dʁe ɔnana]; born 2 April 1996) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Süper Lig club Trabzonspor, on loan from Premier League club Manchester United, and the Cameroon national team.

Onana joined Barcelona's youth system in 2010. He signed for Ajax in 2015, where he made 214 appearances and won three Eredivisie titles. Onana joined Inter Milan on a free transfer in July 2022, winning a Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana title in his sole season at the club, also reaching the Champions League final. Manchester United then signed Onana for an initial £43.8 million in 2023.

At international level, Onana has made more than 50 appearances for the Cameroon national team since making his debut in September 2016.

Born in Nkol Ngok, Onana joined Barcelona from the Samuel Eto'o Academy at the age of 14 in 2010. Because he was under 18 and a non-EU citizen, Onana had to go on loan in the 2012–13 season to the youth team of Cornellà, before being loaned again the next season to the first-team of Vista Alegre.

In early January 2015, it was announced that he would join Dutch club Ajax in July 2015. The transfer was brought forward later that month. He made his debut for Jong Ajax in the Eerste Divisie in February 2015. He signed a new contract with Ajax in May 2017, running until 2021. In March 2019 he signed a further new contract, until June 2022. In November 2019, he said he was interested in playing in the Premier League in England.

In February 2021, Onana was banned from playing for 12 months by UEFA after testing positive for furosemide, a banned substance. Onana said he took his wife's medicine by mistake and Ajax joined him in appealing against the decision. The ban was reduced to nine months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport later in June.

In January 2022, he was linked with a transfer to Italian club Inter Milan. In May 2022, he announced that he was leaving Ajax. Onana spent seven and a half years with Ajax, making 214 appearances in all competitions during his stint.

On 1 July 2022, Inter Milan officially confirmed Onana's signing on a free transfer on a five-year contract.

In January 2023, he won the Supercoppa Italiana against rivals AC Milan, and also went on to win the Coppa Italia, defeating Fiorentina in May 2023. He played an integral role in helping guide Inter to the 2023 Champions League Final.

After discussions with the club through the month, on 16 July 2023 it was reported that Onana had agreed personal terms with Premier League club Manchester United for a five-year contract. Manchester United confirmed the transfer on 20 July, for an initial £43.8 million fee with Inter for the transfer of Onana, with a potential £3.4 million in add-ons, which saw Onana rejoin his former Ajax coach, Erik ten Hag.

Onana made his competitive debut for the club in the Premier League opener against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 14 August. He kept a clean sheet as United won the game 1–0, but was at the centre of controversy after referee Simon Hooper and VAR Michael Salisbury opted not to award a late penalty for a foul by Onana on Saša Kalajdžić. On 20 September, following a 4–3 defeat against Bayern Munich in the Champions League opening fixture, Onana said he had "let the team down" following mistakes during the match. He was then described by journalist Guillem Balagué as "not the perfect goalkeeper but good enough for Manchester United". Ten Hag later said that Onana should be inspired by Manchester United's legendary goalkeepers Peter Schmeichel and David de Gea.

On 24 October 2023, he saved a penalty in the 97th minute in a Champions League match which ended in a 1–0 victory against Copenhagen, leading to his club's first win in the competition that season.

A month later, Onana was heavily criticised for his performance in a 3–3 Champions League draw against Galatasaray; he was directly blamed for Galatasaray's first two goals, which came from former Ajax teammate Hakim Ziyech free kicks. The BBC called it "a night of suffering for Onana", who "produced a horror show to undermine much of United's good work", while the Manchester Evening News declared he "carelessly conceded" the first Galatasaray goal, "catastrophically fumbled" the second and "too easily beaten" for the third. He was defended by manager Erik ten Hag, who opined that Onana's stats showed him to be the second-best goalkeeper in the Premier League.

At the end of his first season, he said it had taken six months for him to "feel good". The season finished with Onana winning his first trophy with United, the FA Cup, beating Manchester City in the final.

During his second season, by December 2024 Onana had kept more clean sheets than any other Premier League goalkeeper, but was criticised for making mistakes against Nottingham Forest and Viktoria Plzeň.

In April 2025, ahead of a game between Lyon and Manchester United, former Manchester United and current Lyon player Nemanja Matic described Onana as "one of the worst goalkeepers in the club's history". Onana was considered to be at fault for both of Lyon's goals in a 2–2 draw, but was defended by manager Ruben Amorim. However, Amorim then dropped Onana for the club's next match.

Ahead of the 2025–26 season, Onana missed United's pre-season tour of the United States due to injury. After Altay Bayındır started in goal for United's first two Premier League matches, Onana made his season debut in the EFL Cup against EFL League Two side Grimsby Town. United were surprisingly beaten on penalties by the lower-league team, and Onana's performance was again criticised, with Richard Jolly of The Independent declaring Onana "the face of Manchester United's worst era".

In September 2025, it was reported that Onana was considering a loan move to Turkish club Trabzonspor. The move was completed on 11 September. Three days later, Onana made his debut for Trabzonspor against Fenerbahçe, conceding a goal to Youssef En-Nesyri just before half-time following a 20th-minute red card for Okay Yokuşlu, as Trabzonspor lost 1–0. On 22 May 2026, he started in Trabzonspor's 2–1 win over Konyaspor in the 2026 Turkish Cup final.

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