Andre Onana’s transfer to Manchester United was finally made official and the fans are giddy. One thing that caught the eye of the fans was that Onana didn’t take up the No 1 shirt left vacant by David de Gea. Instead, he took the number 24. This naturally led to the question- Why does Onana wear 24?
Here’s an attempt to answer the question-
Why does Onana wear 24?
Some players are just comfortable with a shirt number which is particularly close to their heart and thus choose to go with the same one throughout their career.
Andre Onana is a similar case, in that he has chosen to wear 24 as that’s the number he has worn throughout his club career.
Also read: Andre Onana ban at Ajax which soured his relationship with fans
At Ajax, he did the same as he has done at United, swapping the available No 1 jersey for his preferred No 24.
It continued at Inter Milan and the same now happens at Old Trafford.
The birthday theory
Andre Onana himself has never made it clear why 24 is his preferred jersey number. However, a cursory look at his profile does give rise to a theory.
Onana was born on April 2, 1996. With April being the fourth month of the year, his birthday can be written as 2/4/1996.
Many players choose to wear shirts relating to their birthdate as they consider it a lucky number.
Also read: Why Andre Onana was suspended by Cameroon which eventually led to his international retirement
Therefore, while Onana has never said it himself, his birthdate might give a glimpse as to why he prefers to wear No 24.
No 24 at Manchester United
Before Onana, the no 24 shirt was adorned by Timothy Fosu-Mensah at Manchester United. Since his departure from the club in January 2021, No 24 has been left vacant till now.
The No 24 has also been worn by legendary names like Paul Scholes and David Beckham but they were famous for other numbers.
The most famous player at United to have worn No 24 regularly is the current Technical Director at the Club- Darren Fletcher.
As per Manchester United, the midfielder wore 24 in all but two games for the club in his 342-game career at United.