Former Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic has labelled Andre Onana as “one of the worst goalkeepers in the club’s history”.
Serbian Matic, 36, was responding to Onana’s comments about United being “way better” than French club Lyon as the two sides prepare to meet in the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday.
Onana then posted on social media, denying he was being disrespectful.
“I respect everybody,” said Matic, who joined Ligue 1 side Lyon in 2024.
“But when you are one of the worst goalkeepers in Man United history, you need to take care what you’re talking about.
“If it was [Edwin] Van der Sar, [Peter] Schmeichel or [David] De Gea saying that, then I would question myself. But you need to have cover to say something like that.”
The Europa League is the final opportunity for Ruben Amorim’s side – currently 13th in the Premier League – to save a disappointing season.
Matic made 128 appearances for the Red Devils between 2017 and 2022 while Onana signed for £47.2m from Inter Milan in 2023.
“I would never be disrespectful to another club. We know that tomorrow will be a difficult game against a strong opponent,” Onana said on X.
“We focus on preparing a performance to make our fans proud.
“At least I’ve lifted trophies with the greatest club in the world. Some can’t say the same.”
Cameroon international Onana’s initial comments came after Sunday’s 0-0 draw against Manchester City, when he was confident despite describing Lyon as a “very good team”.
“Of course, it’s not going to be easy but I think we are way better than them,” Onana said.
“We all know the importance of this game, we will go there with the winning mentality. It’s not our best season but we still have something to win and we will go for it.”
Onana did not make a list of the top goalkeepers in the world, published on Wednesday by the CIES Football Observatory Index.
CIES uses methodology to take into account the level of games played, the results of matches, and the deviation in the percentage of saves at domestic league level compared to the expected value.
The top three were Paris St-Germain’s Gianluigi Donnarumma, Inter Milan’s Yann Sommer and Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois.
The first leg of the Europa League quarter-final takes place in Lyon at 20:00 BST.
By BBC Sports
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