Andre Onana admits that there’s a lot of sadness at leaving Inter Milan after just one season.
Speaking to Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview published in today’s print edition, via FCInterNews, the 27-year-old even hinted at the possibility of a return to the Nerazzurri one day as he prepares to make the switch to Manchester United.
Onana is now on his way to United.
It’s a matter of when rather than if the Cameroonian wraps up the move.
This will see Onana leave Inter just twelve months after his arrival.
Onana’s time at the Nerazzurri was memorable, however, for how brief it was.
The ex-Ajax star played a key role in the team’s improbable run to the Champions League final. He also cemented himself as a fan favourite quickly.
Therefore, for many Nerazzurri supporters, it’s a sad occasion seeing Onana depart. And, for his part, the player feels that as well.
Onana said upon leaving that “Inter is a feeling, that’s why it stays with you forever.”
As for how he’s feeling on his departure, the 27-year-old said that “I’m feeling good, I took time off to recharge at home, in Cameroon, and then I spent time with my teammates in Appiano [Inter’s training ground] again.”
“Now I’m looking forward to beginning this new experience. It’s exciting, and I’m working with a coach who’s absolutely brilliant.”
“I’m joining a top league and big club, one which has a great history just like that of Inter,” Onana continued. “I’m starting from scratch, but I’ll do everything to show my new fans who I am.”
“But… But part of my heart is sad,” the Cameroonian admitted.
“Leaving Inter means leaving a family,” he went on. “Not just leaving a normal team.”
“I’ve learned since I’ve arrived here that Inter is a way of life, of looking at the world,” Onana said.
As to why he’s leaving, Onana said that “The important thing is being honest and always telling people the truth.”
“I’m a person who always wants new challenges,” he continued.
“Playing in the Premier League and for a club like United is hard to resist.”
“All sides wanted this move to happen,” Onana made clear.
“But what matters is that if I’d stayed I would have been equally happy, because I never had any problems at Inter.”
“Indeed, something magical was born here in Milan, it’s hard to explain,” the 27-year-old said of his season at Inter.
“I’m really talking about something magic, a spark within the whole environment.”
Onana noted that “I know I’ll be able to travel the world, but it will be difficult to find fans like this, and a Curva like Inter’s.”
“The San Siro and the Nerazzurri fans gave me unique feelings that I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.”
“In some matches, it was like we were one,” he reflected. “I had the feeling that we were not playing as eleven, but as 80,000.”
“Being able to experience that from the inside was a privilege that football and life have granted me.”
Looking back at his arrival at the Nerazzurri, Onana said that “I knew I was joining a big club with top players. But I found more than that.”
“Even if it didn’t go the way we wanted in the league, the Champions League brought us together,” he looked back.
“They call it ‘Pazza Inter,’” Onana said. “Maybe it’s because I’m a bit ‘pazza’ as well, but to me that’s the most beautiful way of defining it.”
As for a final message to Inter supporters, the Cameroonian said “‘Thank you’ is the thing I want to say most.”
“I say that to everyone, but especially to the fans.”
“I felt that they really loved me,” he said of the Nerazzurri supporters.
“I only played in Milan for a year, but I’ll be an Interista forever,” Onana said. “Now I’ll root for the team on my tv.”
“Now I’m hoping that the team can can win the Scudetto that we missed out on this time around,” he added. “I know how much everyone wants that second star, I hope the time has come to put it on their chests!”
As for the possibility of a return to Inter one say, the United-bound keeper mused, “Who knows, life is unpredictable. Maybe one day I’ll come back too…”
“And, if it ever happens, I’m sure people will embrace me like they do now, because they’ve gotten to know me.”
