The calamitous Cameroonian is set to depart for Turkey this week, and there won't be a single United fan who is sad to see the back of him
"You want to tell me in six months the best goalkeeper in the Champions League last season can become the worst in the world? Nah. Everything is temporary," Andre Onana told in December 2023 after an error-laden start to his Manchester United career. "I know it'll be alright. If not today, it will be tomorrow, if not tomorrow, the day after tomorrow."
Almost 21 months on from that interview, it's fair to say that Onana's confidence was misplaced. The former Inter Milan goalkeeper was not the "worst in the world" then, but that's a title he has seemingly done his best to earn since.
There was plenty of blame to go around for United's disastrous 2024-25 season, which saw them finish 15th in the Premier League table, but Onana was the symbol of their failure. He became an easy target for opposing teams and constantly undermined the efforts of his team-mates with his staggering ineptitude between the sticks.
As a result, Onana has lost the trust of head coach Ruben Amorim, who started the new campaign with Altay Bayindir in goal, before signing 23-year-old Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp on deadline day. It is expected that Lammens will be United's new No.1, despite his lack of experience, because Bayindir has also proven to be an unreliable pair of hands, while Onana is now being shipped off to Turkey.
The Cameroon international has agreed to join Trabzonspor on a season-long loan, which, remarkably, gives him the chance to almost double his current salary. But the move also effectively ends his time at the top level of the sport. Onana has been so terrible at Old Trafford that his once-proud reputation is in ruins, and he will go down as United's worst signing of the last 20 years, which is some achievement considering how many flops have passed through the club since the Glazer family's takeover in 2005.
Getty Images Sport'He makes the whole team nervous'
Onana has made countless mistakes across his 102 appearances in a United shirt, with not of them being punished. If they had, it's entirely possible that Amorim's side would have been in a genuine fight to avoid relegation last season. Officially, just 22 of his errors have led to goals being conceded, but that is still an insanely high number considering he's only been at Old Trafford for two years.
Many of those have come in extremely important matches, too. Indeed, Onana was almost single-handedly responsible for United's group stage exit from the Champions League in 2023-24, shipping 15 goals as the team finished bottom of a group containing Bayern Munich, Copenhagen and Galatasaray. He somehow let a tame Leroy Sane shot slip under him in a 4-3 defeat to Bayern Munich on matchday one, before passing the ball straight to Dries Mertens when United were locked at 2-2 with Galatasaray in their second game at Old Trafford, which forced Casemiro into a red card tackle on the Belgian.
United ended up losing 3-2 that day, and could only manage a 3-3 draw in the return fixture in Turkey, which effectively sealed their early elimination. Onana was beaten by two Hakim Ziyech free-kicks, the second of which he pushed into the net from a central position despite being under no pressure. "I’m not sure what he’s actually trying to do, punch it away with his right hand? It’s weak," United legend Paul Scholes told after the game. "He makes people nervous, he makes the defence nervous, he makes the whole team nervous. He makes simple saves look really, really difficult."
AdvertisementAFPTen Hag's faith misplaced
As Scholes observed, Onana has never shown any kind of authority in the United net. During his second Premier League home game for United against Nottingham Forest, he famously stayed rooted to his six-yard box when Taiwo Awoniyi ran through, and then bizarrely collapsed to the ground so that the striker could roll the ball into the net.
Onana showed similar levels of fear when allowing Jarrod Bowen to knock the ball in off his leg in United's 2-0 defeat away at West Ham on December 23, 2023, and three days later, he neglected to go and claim a teasing touchline free-kick from Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn, and the ball crept past him at the far post. It was clear early on that Onana couldn't command his box or save simple shots, but then-United coach Erik ten Hag stuck by the Cameroonian, having previously worked with him at Ajax, and defended his "strong character" when facing up to the media.
The Red Devils fell to eighth in the Premier League table by the end of the 2023-24 campaign, but Ten Hag was given a new contract on the back of an unlikely run to FA Cup glory. That success was in no way down to Onana, who was largely poor in United's hugely unconvincing semi-final win over Coventry and gifted Manchester City a way back into the game late on in the final by fumbling a low Jeremy Doku strike in at his near post.
United have made signing a new goalkeeper a priority that summer, but instead, Ten Hag blew the best part of £100 million ($135m) on the likes of Matthijs de Ligt, Manuel Ugarte and Joshua Zirkzee, all of whom have struggled for consistency at Old Trafford. The Dutch coach was way out of his depth, and his misplaced faith in Onana led to his inevitable sacking just three months into the new season.
Getty Images Sport'Under-12s stuff'
United only won three of their first nine Premier League games in 2024-25, and drew their opening three Europa League fixtures against FC Twente, Porto and Fenerbahce. Onana didn't add to his reel of shame during that run, but he was still constantly guilty of woeful positioning and a distinct lack of courage with aerial balls, and his uncertainty continued to filter through to the rest of the backline.
Ten Hag was ousted after a 2-1 loss at West Ham on October 27, which left United down in 14th in the Premier League. United part-owners INEOS moved quickly to lure Amorim away from Sporting CP as Ten Hag's successor, but the Portuguese inherited the mother of all messes, and quickly learned that all of his best laid plans would count for little with Onana serving as the last line of defence.
Amorim started with a 1-1 draw against Ipswich, a 4-0 win over Everton, and a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal, before United played host to surprise top-four contenders Nottingham Forest. Onana was at fault for two goals as Forest picked up their first victory at Old Trafford in 30 years, first letting a Morgan Gibbs-White pea roller in before being caught at sea by a looping Chris Wood header.
United then suffered a major Europa League scare when they fell behind away to Viktoria Plzen, as Onana was punished for a terrible pass out from the back once again. Of all Onana's weaknesses, his woeful distribution has been the most disappointing, because he was initially hailed as the finest ball-playing 'keeper on the continent after his initial arrival from Inter in 2023.
Amorim's men battled back to win that contest 2-1 and reach the knockout phase, but United lost three of their next four league outings, and Onana continued to be a complete liability. He even conceded directly from a Matheus Cunha corner in a 2-0 reversal at Wolves, which Premier League legend Chris Sutton described as "Under-12s stuff" in his BBC Sport column.
Getty Images SportProving Matic right
Onana would grab more unwanted headlines after the turn of the year as United struggled to build any kind of momentum under Amorim. He even managed to ruin the rare moments of encouragement, including when the Red Devils fought to a 3-2 win against Ipswich at Old Trafford after playing the entire second half with 10 men.
Jaden Philogene opened the scoring for the visitors because of a communication mix-up between Onana and Patrick Dorgu, and doubled his account with a cross that went all the way in because the United 'keeper kept to his usual scared statue routine. But the worst was still yet to come.
Ahead of a Europa League quarter-final clash with Lyon, Onana had the audacity to claim that United were "way better" than the French team, prompting a scathing response from Nemanja Matic. "If you are one of the worst goalkeepers in Manchester United's history, you need to take care what you're talking about," said the Lyon midfielder, who played for the Red Devils between 2017 and 2022.
Onana fired back with an ill-advised dig at Matic's trophyless spell at Old Trafford, only to then prove the Serbian right with a shocking performance in the first leg of the tie at the Groupama Stadium. The former Ajax stopper was hopelessly deceived by a Thiago Almada free-kick in the first half, and with United holding a 2-1 lead in the final minute of second-half injury time, he fumbled a Corentin Tolisso shot straight into the path of Rayan Cherki, who was then able to dink in a dramatic equaliser from close range.
The Red Devils won a crazy second leg 5-4 after extra time and saw off Athletic Club in the next round to set up an all-English final against Tottenham, but Onana did not complete his redemption arc. He was far too static for Brennan Johnson's decisive goal in Bilbao, which saw Tottenham clinch their first trophy in 17 years and compound the worst season in United's entire history.