One of Ajax’s highest-profile stars has sensationally revealed that he turned down a move to La Liga champions Barcelona this summer, the ace is one of the best in his position.
According to French outlet RMC Sport, Ajax star Andre Onana has revealed that he rejected the chance to return to Barcelona this summer, and also admitted that French giants Paris Saint-Germain were interested in his services.
PSG seemed to be in the market for a stopper this summer, the Parisians eventually signed Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas before the transfer window closed.
It’s surprising to hear that Onana rejected the chance to move back to Barcelona considering that the Cameroonian joined the Blaugrana at 13 years old.
The ace left the Catalan giants in the summer of 2015 to join Ajax and he hasn’t looked back since. The stopper was integral as his side completed a domestic double and defied the odds to reach the Champions League semi-finals.
Here’s what the Ajax stopper had to say on a return to Catalonia:
“Barca came back for me this summer,”
“It’s my home, I was part of that club. They always want one of their own to re-sign.”
“But it was not the right time to return. Maybe I’ll never get another chance! But it was not a good time to do it this summer.”
Onana also had his say on interest from PSG:
“I had feedback from PSG. I had discussions with my agent. He told me of Paris and what he wanted to do.”
“He was, however, tight-lipped on how these talks developed.”
“What happened remains between professionals, these are the things that are managed with my agent.”
“We talked about it several times and he told me that PSG were interested.”
If Barcelona didn’t already have a long-term stopper in Marc-Andre ter Stegen we think Onana would be more open to returning to Spain.
As he mentioned, Catalonia is his home, he left Cameroon as a child to travel into Europe and follow his dream to become a professional footballer.
Onana has now established himself as one of the best young goalkeepers in the world. Not many stoppers have the experience that the 23-year-old does.
It’s also worth noting that his talent wouldn’t have been discovered if football icon Samuel Eto’o didn’t open an academy after his success in Europe’s top leagues.
Eto’o has certainly paved the way for many African players to succeed at top clubs.
