Andre Onana 'calmed down' by Liverpool flop after nightmare trip and AFCON snub

16 January 2024 , 11:08

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Andre Onana was spotted talking to Liverpool flop El Hadji Diouf at AFCON (Image: L'Equipe)

Andre Onana was left furious after making a nightmare 16-hour journey to the Ivory Coast in time for Cameroon's Africa Cup of Nations opener - only to be left out of the squad entirely.

The Cameroonian FA reached an agreement with Manchester United which allowed Onana to remain in England until January 14, meaning he was able to play in the 2-0 FA Cup win over Wigan last Monday and the 2-2 draw with Tottenham on Sunday.

The goalkeeper then got on a private jet four hours after the Spurs game to make the trip to AFCON, with Cameroon's tournament getting underway against Guinea on Monday. However, the plane was unable to land in Yamoussoukro due to poor weather and was instead diverted to Abidjan.

Onana ended up making the remaining three-hour trip from Abidjan to Yamoussoukro by car and arrived around three hours before kick-off, but the 27-year-old was ultimately left out of the squad by manager Rigobert Song.

Onana's cousin Fabrice Ondoa started instead, with Devis Epassy and Simon Ngapandouetnbu both named on the bench. And according to reports from local media, as per the Express, Onana was not happy to have been omitted from the matchday squad.

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It is claimed he shouted: "If I wasn't going to play or make the team, then why did I come here on a private jet?" There was also footage showing Onana engaged in conversation with former Liverpool forward El Hadji Diouf, who was apparently calming him down.

Cameroon ultimately drew the match 1-1, with Frank Magri scoring a second-half equaliser after Mohamed Bayo gave Guinea the lead. Speaking after the match, Song played down the decision to leave Onana out of the squad.

Onana missed Cameroon's Africa Cup of Nations opener against Guinea (Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images)

"We all know that [Onana wouldn't play]," he said, as per beIN SPORTS. "We need to stick to our logic. He arrived at 4am, how do you expect him to play? He's part of the group. He joined us at 4am so he's part of the squad.

"There's the rest of the competition, and I'm sticking with my full squad." Onana came out of retirement ahead of this year's AFCON, having previously quit international football after falling out with Song at the Qatar World Cup.

Cameroon have two more group games left to play against Senegal and Gambia and if they fail to reach the knockouts, Onana will not end up missing any games for United as a result of the Premier League's winter break. Should they go all the way, Onana will miss league matches against Wolves, West Ham and Aston Villa as well as an FA Cup tie against either Eastleigh or Newport.

Matthew Cooper