(Reuters) -Olympique Lyonnais midfielder Nemanja Matic has hit back at comments from Manchester United's Andre Onana, describing the Cameroonian as "one of the worst goalkeepers" in the club's history ahead of Thursday's Europa League quarter-final.
United are having their worst season in the Premier League, where they are 13th in the standings, and winning the Europa League is potentially their only ticket to the Champions League next season.
Onana said "we are way better than them" when referring to the French club this week but Matic, who spent five seasons at United, was not impressed with the player's comments.
"If you're one of the worst goalkeepers in Manchester United's history, then you need to take care of what you are talking about," Matic told reporters on Wednesday.
"If David de Gea, Peter Schmeichel or Edwin van der Sar said that, then I would question myself. But if you are statistically one of the worst goalkeepers in Manchester United's modern history, then he needs to show that before he says (that)."
Soon after the press conference, Onana took to social media to say he would never be disrespectful to another club, but still took a shot at Matic, who did not win a trophy at United.
"We know that tomorrow will be a difficult game against a strong opponent," Onana said in a post on X.
"At least I've lifted trophies with the greatest club in the world. Some can't say the same," he added along with a picture of him kissing the FA Cup that United won last year.
However, Matic had nothing but kind words for United boss Ruben Amorim -- a former teammate when they both played for Portuguese side Benfica.
"We all saw that he has potential, he has everything to become a good coach. In a few years he made big progress and I'm happy for him, especially because I played with him," Matic said.
"It's always nice to see your ex-teammates doing well as a manager... He needs time (at United). In football today people don't have time, but I'm sure he has the right profile - a young coach with a lot of energy. He needs support."
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru;Editing by Christian Radnedge)
