So it’s farewell Andre Onana. Although the Cameroon international spent only two years at Manchester United before leaving on loan for Trabzonspor, fans actually got to know him pretty well. They spent much of that period cursing his propensity to let soft shots slip through his hands, his failure to find team-mates with his passing or him conceding goals directly from corners.
Onana signed for United from Inter in the summer of 2023 for £47 million ($63m) and was billed as one of the best goalkeepers in the world with the ball at his feet. His arrival was expected to unlock United’s potential under Erik ten Hag – his former boss at Ajax – and bring more fluidity to the team’s play. But all it brought was howler after howler while United never saw any benefits from his supposedly top-class distribution.
Signing Onana meant United humiliated a club legend in David de Gea by withdrawing their contract offer to him, and it was hardly worth it because just two years on their goalkeeping situation remains a giant mess. The promising yet inexperienced Senne Lammens was brought in on transfer deadline day after two costly gaffes from Altay Bayindir and Onana’s woeful performance in the shock Carabao Cup exit by Grimsby to start the season.
As Onana heads to Turkey with huge doubts over his long-term future at Old Trafford, BALLGM has ranked his most embarrassing errors in his two seasons in the team…
So it’s farewell Andre Onana. Although the Cameroon international spent only two years at Manchester United before leaving on loan for Trabzonspor, fans actually got to know him pretty well. They spent much of that period cursing his propensity to let soft shots slip through his hands, his failure to find team-mates with his passing or him conceding goals directly from corners.
Onana signed for United from Inter in the summer of 2023 for £47 million ($63m) and was billed as one of the best goalkeepers in the world with the ball at his feet. His arrival was expected to unlock United’s potential under Erik ten Hag – his former boss at Ajax – and bring more fluidity to the team’s play. But all it brought was howler after howler while United never saw any benefits from his supposedly top-class distribution.
Signing Onana meant United humiliated a club legend in David de Gea by withdrawing their contract offer to him, and it was hardly worth it because just two years on their goalkeeping situation remains a giant mess. The promising yet inexperienced Senne Lammens was brought in on transfer deadline day after two costly gaffes from Altay Bayindir and Onana’s woeful performance in the shock Carabao Cup exit by Grimsby to start the season.
As Onana heads to Turkey with huge doubts over his long-term future at Old Trafford, بالجم has ranked his most embarrassing errors in his two seasons in the team…
It might have only been a friendly, but this was a terrible way for Onana to introduce himself to Old Trafford, as he was lobbed from the centre-circle by عدسة‘ Florian Sotoca before ending up tangled in the back of his own net.
Sotoca took advantage of Onana’s high positioning and let fly after intercepting a loose pass from Diogo Dalot to put Lens in front, and though United turned the game around to win 3-1, it was a sign of what was to come from their new £47 million ($62m) signing.
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United had got off to a dream start against غلطة سراي فيهم دوري أبطال أوروبا group-stage clash thanks to goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes, but sloppy goalkeeping by Onana from a free-kick reduced the deficit in the first half.
The Cameroonian did not set his wall up well and then reacted too slowly when Hakim Ziyech’s strike went through it and into his net. And yet, it would not be his lowest moment of that evening in Istanbul (more on that later…)
Patrick Dorgu was the main culprit for handing Jaden Philogene a shock fourth-minute goal for Ipswich Town at Old Trafford during their Premier League meeting in February 2025, but Onana played his part in the omnishambles, rushing out of his goal while not shouting for the new signing to leave it.
It was a further sign that Onana is often not on the same page as his team-mates and struggles to command his area – but it was not even his worst moment in that game either…
Onana’s performances in the 2022-23 Champions League campaign with Inter were a big reason why United were convinced to sign him, but the Red Devils’ return to Europe’s top table got off to a nightmare start when the goalkeeper allowed Leroy Sane’s tame attempt from outside the box to slip under his body.
United had made a good start to the game at بايرن ميونيخ, but the ‘keeper’s clanger put the Germans in front against the run of play and they charged to a 4-3 win. It was the first mistake of many for Onana in what turned into a rotten Champions League campaign.
United were drawing a thrilling game with Galatasaray at Old Trafford when Onana casually passed the ball straight to Dries Mertens. That in turn forced Casemiro to try and clean up the mess by making a last-ditch tackle to keep the Belgian from scoring, but instead resulted in the Brazilian giving away a penalty and earning a red card.
Mauro Icardi missed the target from the spot, but Galatasaray still made the most of their one-man advantage as the Argentine got his revenge by snatching a 3-2 win. It left United with no points from their first two Champions League games and already four points behind their visitors from Turkey.
مع برايتون out-playing United at Old Trafford for the third season in a row, Onana needed to bring his A-game. But he failed to even do the basics right when the Seagulls struck for the second time in the game.
The goalkeeper left his near post unguarded and engaged in some ball-watching when Yankuba Minteh floated in a cross. Onana appeared to assume the ball was heading out and failed to spot the lurking Kaoru Mitoma, who slid in to poke Brighton back in front.
Onana had been performing well in the 2024 FA Cup final, as he kept out a thumping Kyle Walker drive to keep United 2-0 up at Wembley. But as City cranked up the pressure towards the end of the second half, the goalkeeper feebly let Jeremy Doku’s strike creep inside his near post when it would have been so simple to parry it out for a corner.
The blunder reduced the deficit by a goal in the 86th minute, making for an angsty final few moments for United. Fortunately for Onana, the Red Devils clung on and the error was largely forgotten amid the celebrations and Erik ten Hag’s redemption storyline.
Onana needed to stay strong after his mix-up with Dorgu against Ipswich, but later in the first half he gave the Old Trafford faithful another collective heart attack when he remained passive in the face of a soft bouncing cross from Philogene.
The goalkeeper allowed himself to become too distracted by the presence of Liam Delap rather than watching the movement of the ball and to his horror saw it squirm into his near corner, gifting Ipswich an equaliser right before half-time. Fortunately, Harry Maguire bailed him out by scoring a third which earned 10-man United a 3-2 win.
United had overcome conceding in the fourth minute to level their game with high-flying Nottingham Forest in December, but Onana paved the way for the visitors’ victory with a shocking mistake.
Morgan Gibbs-White fired at goal from outside the box, but his shot looked comfortable for the goalkeeper as it headed straight down the middle and along the floor. Onana, however, managed to dive the wrong way and completely missed the ball. At first it seemed like a gust of wind had blown the effort in the other direction, but upon seeing replays it became apparent that Onana had simply misjudged it.
Forest sunk their teeth into United again after Gibbs-White’s fortuituous goal to move towards a first victory at Old Trafford in 30 years. And once again, Onana made things easy for them, although this time with help from Lisandro Martinez.
Chris Wood’s glancing header had very little power on it, but Onana seemed to think that his defender had it covered. The Argentine, however, had assumed that Onana would take care of the eminently saveable effort. Both players ended up in each other’s way and, for the second time in under 10 minutes, Forest could not believe their luck.
Onana had all eyes on him before United’s الدوري الأوروبي clash against Lyon after foolishly getting into a war of words with Matic. The French crowd were thus on his back from minute one, and they must have got in his head because he was flummoxed by Thiago Almada’s free-kick delivery, which ended up creeping past him.
The goal provoked howls of derision on social media, as everyone concluded that Matic had been right.
As has often been the case with Onana, lightning struck twice against Brighton in January, and he saved his worst for last. United were chasing the game when the goalkeeper put the final nail in their coffin as he went out to claim a low cross from Yasin Ayari. No opponents were near him, but as he tried to catch the ball, Onana instead nudged it straight into the path of Georginio Rutter, who said thank you very much and made it 3-1.
After the game, Amorim famously declared that he was coaching “the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United”. It was difficult to disagree – and what did that say about Onana?
The concept of the ‘Olimpico’ was alien to many English football fans until very recently. That was largely because goals scored straight from corners are so rare. However, United managed to concede two of them in less than a week last December.
First, Altay Bayindir let one in against توتنهام in the Carabao Cup, and then on Boxing Day, Onana did the exact same at Wolves, underlining the dearth of quality among United’s two goalkeepers. Matheus Cunha must have been encouraged by how badly generally United defend against corners and went straight for the jugular with a cross curling right towards the far post. Onana, not for the first time, completely misjudged the flight of the ball and could not get a hand on it as it travelled straight into the inside side netting.
Onana was given the chance to take advantage of Altay Bayindir’s flapping in United’s opening-day defeat to أرسنال when he was picked for the Carabao Cup trip to الدوري الثاني side Grimsby Town at the start of the 2025-26 campaign. However, Onana only succeeded in reminding everyone why the club so desperately needed to sign a new No.1.
The goalkeeper was beaten at his near post as Charles Vernam gave the minnows a shock lead and then was completely flummoxed by Grimsby’s physical approach at corners, leading to Tyrell Warren scoring a second to put the lower-league side in dreamland.
Late goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Harry Maguire rescued United and took the game to penalties, but if Onana thought this was the time to become a hero, he was very much mistaken. He conceded 12 of the 13 spot-kicks he faced as United suffered their first-ever cup elimination to a fourth division team.
It could prove to be Onana’s last game for the club; if so, it was a fittingly dismal farewell.
When Onana signed for United, he was hailed as one of the best goalkeepers in the world at playing out from the back. He was coveted precisely because it is such a risky business. But one of the key things to think about when playing out from the back is to make sure you pass to a team-mate and not the opposition.
Onana got this key concept wrong when United faced Sheffield United, the weakest team in the Premier League at the time, at the back end of the 2023-24 season. He was aiming for Dalot, but his soft pass was quickly cut out by Jayden Bogle, who fired the Blades into a shock lead. The Red Devils ended up coming from behind twice to win 4-2, which was lucky for Onana as this was one of the biggest mistakes he has made for the club.
United had restored their two-goal cushion against Galatasaray through Scott McTominay, but the hosts earned another free-kick, albeit one which was even further out than the previous one. Ziyech took it again, and his shot was straight at Onana, but instead of pushing the ball away from the danger, the goalkeeper somehow managed to push it straight back towards his own goal.
The goal naturally raised the roof in Istanbul and Galatasaray soon drew level,as Onana didn’t cover his near post properly when Kerem Akturkoglu blasted a shot at him. The 3-3 draw meant United’s Champions League fate was out of their hands heading into the final group game against Bayern Munich, which they ended up losing anyway to finish bottom of the group on four points and crash out of Europe altogether. Onana could be held directly responsible for them dropping at least four points, which would have been enough to take them through.
