15 March 2024 , 22:26
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Liverpool flop El Hadji Diouf has accused former Cameroon boss Rigobert Song of disrespecting Andre Onana.
The Manchester United goalkeeper has endured a difficult season for both his club and country. Onana made a number of high-profile errors after arriving at Old Trafford from Italian giants Inter Milan. That led to calls that he should be dropped for the Red Devils and Cameroon for the African Cup of Nations earlier this year, particularly after Onana linked up with his international teammates late.
He eventually made just one appearance at the tournament, a decision that former Liverpool forward Diouf believes was a mistake. Speaking to Canal+, he said: “André Onana is someone I respect a lot and I congratulate him for what he does and his commitment to his team.
“How can you have a goalkeeper of Onana’s calibre, an immense talent who plays for Manchester United and not play him in the round of 16 game? For me, it’s a lack of respect and if I were a player, I wouldn’t agree with that.”
It's quite the contrast for Diouf, who during the tournament had queried the decision from Cameroon to allow Onana to link up late with the squad.
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Then he said, according to Foot Mercato: “Cameroon have gone backwards. These days, I’m in pain for the Cameroon fans and Cameroon people.
"They say they are the continent, but it’s more the continental hotel, because they are sitting back on their history. To see their goalkeeper arriving two days before a game. That would be unacceptable for Senegal.”
El Hadji Diouf was left disgruntled by Andre Onana's situation (Getty Images)How would you rate Andre Onana's signing out of ten? Share your thoughts in the comments below
Onana has since opened up on the troubles he stumbled into during his first few months at Man United. At one point, he was on the receiving end of some scathing criticism from a youth player at the club's Carrington training ground, being asked "are you going to save one or what?" following a string of unsaved shots in training. That brutal comment came after a difficult showing in the Red Devils’ 3-3 draw with Galatasaray in the Champions League.
He explained that his early issues were simply a case of adaptation.
“It was a difficult time for me,” said Onana. “Now I'm feeling a bit better. I already know the goalkeeper that I am, but it took me six months or seven months not to play good, just to feel good. When I moved from Amsterdam to Milan, that adaptation was quite easy. But it took me seven, eight months here. It was just time to learn and go game by game.
“Everything was new, it was difficult for me to feel at home, for so many reasons, in a new country. It was just moments. Sometimes you're faced with a difficult situation, just not feeling good, not playing good, because I didn’t think I started to play good. So, it was just something strange, but it was a good time for me to learn. Because I learned a lot at that time.
“Playing in the final of the Champions League for Inter and being knocked out in the first stage a few months later, was a big lesson for me. Now I think I have everything on my back, learn from it, move on and try to be happy. That is the most important thing.”