Inter goalkeeper Andre Onana is on the verge of a move to Manchester United, according to almost all reporting on the matter. The transfer comes just months after Onana left the Cameroon camp in Qatar due to personal differences with the management, but United do not appear to have any character concerns. According to one of the former Vice-Presidents of the Cameroon Football Federation, the World Cup incident was down to Samuel Eto’o.
The former Real Mallorca, Real Madrid and Barcelona striker is now President of the Cameroon FA, and is typically outspoken in his role. However Cadena Cope have carried quotes from Henri Njalla Quan, who alleges that Eto’o allowed his personal views to cloud his professional judgement.
“I asked him formally about the future of our goalkeeper [Onana] in the national team, and he replied that the boy’s career is over, and that the letter he sent to his club, Inter, was to get rid of the boy, so how can someone be so petty? He wanted to get rid of him at all costs.”
More generally, Njalla Quan claims that Eto’o has poisoned the culture in the Cameroonian national team.
“The stars of the national team are being suffocated by someone who himself was a star when he was a footballer, and who wants to continue being one as a coach. He is present at all meetings, in all training sessions. Even the coach (Rigobert Song) feels suffocated by the omnipresence of Eto’o.”
Eto’o was even accused of threatening Njalla Quan too.
“Eto’o gave 1 million francs to a football official to monitor me, and this man started threatening my family. I contacted the prosecutor, who took steps to guarantee my safety. President Samuel Eto’o held a meeting with the other members of the executive committee at the Starland Hotel, during which he said that he no longer trusted me because I asked too many questions.”
These accusations are currently limited to Njalla Quan, and Eto’o is yet to respond to them. However it is a concerning picture that is painted of Eto’o’s stewardship, and certainly sheds a different light on Onana’s World Cup exit.
