Man United paid astonishing fee to keep Andre Onana for longer before AFCON

Manchester United reportedly paid a huge fee to keep Andre Onana longer before the Africa Cup of Nations.

AFCON is held every two years and this year’s edition takes place in the Ivory Coast.

Ahead of the tournament, the majority of players taking part left their respective clubs early to prepare for the competition.

For example, Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah left after their 4-2 win over Newcastle United on New Year’s Day.

However, Onana played for United against Tottenham Hotspur on 14 January, with Cameroon’s first AFCON match taking place on 15 January.

Onana ended up missing his country’s first match but started in Friday evening's 3-1 defeat against Senegal.

Now, it has been reported that it cost United a big fee to keep Onana in Manchester for longer.

According to The Athletic, United covered the cost of Onana’s flight in order to keep him for as long as possible. The overall cost of the trip was reportedly a minimum of £79,000.

During the match against Senegal, Onana was criticised for his performance but his manager refused to place the blame on the goalkeeper.

Rigobert Song said: “I'm not going to blame anyone, I'm going to take responsibility.

“My players fought. We must recognise that Senegal were better than us. The next match we will win and qualify for the next round.”

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Onana said after the match to Canal+ Sport Afrique, via 90Min: “Maybe they played better. We had our chances, both teams had their periods.

“We had the opportunity to come back to 2-2, it didn't work out. Everything depends on details and the match has changed. On the verge of elimination? No. We are a great nation, with an important match coming up and we are going to give everything. We know very well that it's going to be difficult, that's why we're here. And we will assume our responsibilities.”

He added: “We must also recognise the quality of the opposing team. We played against the African champion, they put us in difficulty. But in the last 45 minutes, we were better. We must learn from our mistakes.”

Cameroon will be back in AFCON action on Tuesday against Gambia.