ANDRE ONANA BANNED FOR NINE MONTHS
Under Erik ten Hag, Onana had established himself as Ajax's first choice and he was proving his early promise at the Catalan giants was not a flash in the pan. However, one mistake in October 2020 would cost him nearly a year of his career.
After a 2-2 draw with Atalanta in the Champions League, Onana had been suffering with a headache and, instead of waiting until he got back to Ajax's De Toekomst training ground, he decided to take a paracetamol from his kitchen. Following the session, the 'keeper undertook a routine drug doping assessment. In professional sport, these are often random and an athlete can be selected at any given moment.
While football has not been plagued by drug doping like some other sports, UEFA still deems it to be essential in order to guarantee a fair playing field. During a training camp with Cameroon a couple of days later, Onana was informed he had failed the test.
Traces of Furosemide were found in Onana's sample, a banned substance according to UEFA's rules. The drug is banned in professional sport for two reasons; one is because it can mask the presence of performance-enhancing drugs in urine and two because it can excrete water to help someone lose weight rapidly, an issue which would be more common in combat sports.
Like Onana, Ajax were puzzled as to why this substance had been found in his body. However, when United legend Edwin van der Sar inspected his kitchen cabinet he discovered the Cameroonian had accidentally taken Lasimac which had been prescribed to his wife after she had given birth instead of the paracetamol he thought he had ingested.
While UEFA accepted Onana's version of events, they still chose to ban him in February 2021 for nine months for breaking doping rules. Reflecting on the incident and subsequent decision, he told The Guardian: "I'm just a number, they can't deal case by case.
"I think they should but there are rules and the rules are the rules. The doctors said [Furosemide] is for water-retention and doesn't benefit you.
"They recognised it was a genuine mistake but you're responsible for everything in your body. If I buy a bottle of water that turns out to be contaminated, it's my responsibility.
"It's a human error." Despite coming back in November 2021, Onana did not start featuring again until the end of the 21/22 season by which point he had made it clear he wished to move on to pastures new.
He would eventually leave in the summer of 2022 for Inter on a free transfer following the culmination of his contract in Amsterdam.
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