Andre Onana admits unhappiness at Man Utd after "difficult" first season at Old Trafford
Andre Onana has admitted his Manchester United team-mates have been left unhappy by their miserable season.
The keeper joined United from Inter Milan in the summer transfer window in a £44million deal. But it has been a dismal debut campaign for the Cameroon international, who has conceded 75 goals in all competitions and kept just 12 clean sheets.
Onana’s dreadful year has been part of a wider downturn in fortunes for United. They are currently eighth in the Premier League table, having also finished rock-bottom of their Champions League group.
United’s dressing room is not hiding from their dire performances though, according to Onana. Instead, he insisted that they are desperate to help restore the Red Devils to their former glory.
“Yeah, it was really hard [to start off with] but it’s the first time I faced such a situation. Now I know the league, I know the people, I know the country, I know Manchester. When I look back now, I’m just smiling because it was a big lesson for me,” he said.
“But in the beginning I was like, ‘Wow, did I make the right choice?’ But I’m definitely 100 per cent sure I made the right choice because Manchester United is the bigger club in this country, it’s one of the biggest clubs in the world.
“I don’t think my team-mates are happy with the situation we are facing because I know them, they are all winners, and everyone wants to win. When we started the season, we were speaking in the dressing room about fighting for every single title.
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ISTANBUL, TURKEY – NOVEMBER 29: Goalkeeper Andre Onana of Manchester United is dejected after the UEFA Champions League match between Galatasaray A.S. and Manchester United at Ali Sami Yen Arena on November 29, 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Seskim Photo/MB Media/Getty Images)
“But things happen in life and we have to deal with [this] situation. But now we have a beautiful final to play, we have another few games to play. We’ll go for it and end with the dignity.”
While United still have four Premier League games and the FA Cup final to play this season, Onana is already looking ahead to next year. And he is confident things will improve over the summer.
“The whole season has been a difficult season for all of us, as an individual, as a group. But we always have to stay positive because I don’t think we lost the place in Europe against Burnley,” Onana added.
“We all have to take responsibility; I start with myself, always. It has been a difficult season. If you put everything on the table, you can speak about a lot of things, like injuries, players, about bad luck.
“But we are Manchester United, we are such a big club, so we cannot talk about that. We have to stay positive. The game last week is gone. [Be] positive, and if the season is not the best one, I’m sure the coming one will be better.”
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