Van der Sar told Ten Hag signing ‘I know who you are’ when he joined Man Utd – Footymercato.com

Andre Onana has opened up about the advice he received from legendary Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar when he first joined the club.

Onana made the move to Old Trafford last summer, with the Red Devils forking out £47.2million to sign him from Inter Milan. The 28-year-old had previously worked with manager Erik ten Hag at Ajax, with Van der Sar also the club’s CEO during that time.

And Onana has now revealed Van der Sar, who won four Premier League titles at United, gave him some important advice when he signed for the Red Devils. “I had the privilege to have him [Van der Sar] at Ajax and he advised me a lot,” Onana told the official club magazine Inside United.

“We had a great time there. We achieved a lot of things together. Obviously, I had the honour to train a few times with him when he was coming to the training sessions. It was nice.

“He had a great career here and he’s done a lot of things for Manchester United and for me. I’m still in contact with him and very happy to talk to him sometimes, when we can. Talking about him is something great because he did a lot for me.

“I spoke to him when I signed here and even, I think, a few months ago. He told me: ‘Andre, what can I tell you already? You are already used to the pressure. Just give yourself time and show the world who you are. I already know who you are’.”

Van der Sar served as Ajax’s CEO between 2016 and 2023 and suffered a brain haemorrhage last July while on holiday in Croatia. He has since recovered and visited Old Trafford to watch United’s 3-2 win over Aston Villa on Boxing Day.

Onana, meanwhile, has been ever present for United this season with 40 appearances across all competitions. However, he endured a difficult start to life at Old Trafford after making some costly errors.

“It was a difficult time for me,” he admitted last month. “Now I’m feeling a bit better. I already know the goalkeeper that I am, but it took me six months or seven months not to play good, just to feel good.

“When I moved from Amsterdam to Milan, that adaptation was quite easy. But it took me seven, eight months here. It was just time to learn and go game by game. Everything was new, it was difficult for me to feel at home, for so many reasons, in a new country.”

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