Meet Dr Melanie Kamayou, Manchester United star Andre Onana’s wife whose medicine he claimed to accidentally take after it resulted in ban
Andre Onana sealed a £47.2 million move to Manchester United and his wife Dr Melanie Kamayou arrived in England by his side.
Dr Melanie Kamayou has a successful career of her own as a businesswoman and philanthropist, per The Sun. She is also the co-chair of her partner's foundation, 'The Fundación Andre Onana' which was founded in 2016.
The former Cameroon international is a qualified pharmacist and she was first spotted alongside Onana at the 2019 Ballon d'Or ceremony. He was one of the nominees for the inaugural Yashin Trophy (best goalkeeper in the world) and finished seventh in the rankings.
However, the new Manchester United goalkeeper's career took a turn for the worse two years later. Onana, 27, was banned from playing football for 12 months after he tested positive for Furosemide, which is a banned substance. The shot-stopper claimed that it was his wife's medication, which he mistakenly took.
The Cameroon international and his former club Ajax appealed the decision and the ban was reduced to nine months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. He left the Johan Cruyff Arena last summer to join Inter Milan.
However, Onana would then be reunited with his former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag at Manchester United this summer. Kamayou posted a snap of herself and her husband just days after he completed his move to Old Trafford. She captioned the Instagram post:
"To my husband … You are more than a husband (love)."
The 26-year-old philanthropist wasn't actually born in Cameroon but rather in Paris, France, per The Sports Grail. She also grew up in several countries such as Algeria, Cameroon, and the USA.
She is quite a private person but boasts 11.1k followers on Instagram. That following is likely to increase following her partner's transfer to Manchester United.
William Gallas expects Andre Onana to live up to expectations at Manchester United
Onana's move to the Red Devils has allowed Ten Hag to play with a goalkeeper he knows all too well. The Dutch tactician oversaw his development at Ajax as he became one of Europe's best ball-playing shot-stoppers.
There have been some doubts regarding the Cameroonian and his capabilities to replace David de Gea. He put in a somewhat erratic performance on his Premier League debut in a 1-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanders.
However, William Gallas reckons he will be fine despite not enjoying as much time on the ball as previously in Serie A with Inter Milan. He said (via Metro):
"I think it will be different from Serie A in Italy, as in the Premier League he will have less time to choose what he wants to do with the ball. I saw the quality he has already and he will have to adapt to the new system. I think he will be fine though."
The Cameroonian earned plaudits for his performances for Inter last season which saw him keep 19 clean sheets in 41 games across competitions. He was part of a Nerazzurri side that won the Coppa Italia and finished runners-up in the UEFA Champions League. He also kept the most clean sheets in Europe's elite club competition with 11 in 13 games.