Andre Onana gives response to AFCON controversy this past weekend

The Cameroonian finally speaks about his decision to start Sundays game and arrive late to Ivory Coast

17/01/2024, 07:14 PM +00:00

The goalkeeper wound up missing the first group game

The decision between club vs country. It’s something that tears some football fans apart on who they love more. Football fans are not the only ones that have to suffer with that internal debate. So do footballers as there are currently going on this January with the African Cup of Nations underway as is the Asian Cup. With both international tournaments in the middle of the season, there were several players across Europe that had to leave their respective clubs to go represent their country. Some of the big names include Mohamed Salah for Egypt, Son Heung-Min for South Korea, Yves Bissouma for Mali, Hakimi for Morocco, and many others.

While most players committed to their nations and abandoned their clubs to go represent their country for the next month, there were a few players that chose the other side. One prominent name was a Ghanaian on Leicester City called Abdul Issahaku, who declined his call up to the national team and chose to stay in Leicester. Another player that did a similar thing is United goalkeeper Andre Onana.

Onana has had a troubled time with the Cameroon football federation over the past 15 months as the goalkeeper walked out on them during the World Cup last year after a dispute with coach Rigobert Song. That led to Onana retiring from international football in December 2022. Onana would not represent Cameroon again until he decided to rejoin them this past September for AFCON qualifiers.

Fast forward 4 months later and it was time for Onana to take his temporary leave to go AFCON but the goalkeeper was hesitant to leave Manchester as he wanted to help his club out. That led to United finding a solution with Cameroon where Onana was allowed to stay for United’s past two games against Wigan and Spurs before leaving. Keep in mind that Cameroon was scheduled to play Monday a day after United played Spurs.

Onana’s thoughts on the decision between United and Cameroon

"It's like choosing between my father and my mother, but my country comes first, that's why I'm here," Onana said "Let people continue to criticise me. I'm used to it. I do what is good for my country," Onana added.”