Jamie Carragher's view that Andre Onana used Harry Maguire to endear himself to Manchester United fans with his pre-season outburst has been debunked.
Onana joined United in the summer for a fee of £47.2 million from Champions League finalists Inter Milan, replacing David de Gea after his contract expired.
The Cameroonian immediately showed what he's all about in pre-season and in just his second game, he was seen venting at Harry Maguire for a mistake which nearly led to a goal for Borussia Dortmund.
The angry outburst drew comparisons to United legendary goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel but also received plenty of criticism.
Onana played down the incident and described Maguire as a "top guy" and "a fantastic player".
Advert
But former Liverpool defender Carragher believes the rant was "distasteful" and an attempt to create a rapport with United fans early doors.
He wrote in his column for The Telegraph: "One of the most distasteful incidents of all occurred during the friendly with Borussia Dortmund in July, when new signing Andre Onana started yelling at Maguire, in my view disgracefully playing to the gallery to endear himself to United fans.
“I watched that in disbelief, but it said everything about what has gone wrong. Maguire was still the club captain then. He should have reacted furiously, put Onana in his box and demanded respect.
Advert
“Instead, he has the persona of someone whose confidence and authority is utterly broken.”
However, one United fan has shared a clip which disproves the idea that Onana targeted Maguire.
The former Ajax man was involved in an angry spat with Edin Dzeko at Inter, telling the Bosnian to "shut up", while the aforementioned video shows him berating his backline after conceding against Nottingham Forest.
Advert
Onana fumed at the defence following a dismal standard of defending in the opening five minutes in a game United went on to win 3-2.
Carragher's thoughts come after Maguire scored an own goal for England against Scotland and manager Gareth Southgate called the treatment he receives from pundits, commentators and fans a "joke".
Maguire, who has remained at United has been defended by former teammate Ashley Young, while his mother Zoe has penned a lengthy statement hitting out at the "disgraceful" abuse he has been subjected to.
"SPORTbible are on WhatsApp! We've launched a dedicated news channel to send you the latest news, features and plenty more directly on WhatsApp and all you need to do to sign up is click through to our one-way broadcast channel here or 'SPORTbible News' to appear in the 'Updates' tab on your WhatsApp."
Topics: Jamie Carragher, Manchester United, Andre Onana, Harry Maguire
Josh Lawless