Andre Onana says he decided to "stand up and fight" after a tough start to life at Manchester United.
The Red Devils are preparing to face Manchester City in the FA Cup final for a second consecutive season on Saturday after a poor campaign saw them finish in their lowest-ever league position in the Premier League.
Certain players were singled out throughout the season due to their performances, with Onana coming under fire for a string of errors early on after taking over from David de Gea when he joined from Inter last July.
However, the goalkeeper was adamant he did not let the criticism get to him.
"I arrived as the best goalkeeper in the world and 'boom' it went down. It was like 'What happened?'," he said.
"But that is how difficult football is sometimes. It depends if you want to stay down there or stand up and fight. I know what I did to arrive here. I know who I am. I decided to stand up and fight."
Onana compared his experience to that of teammate Marcus Rashford, who was left out of Gareth Southgate’s England squad for Euro 2024 after scoring just eight goals this season.
"We are talking about the same player [Rashford]. So now he's a bad player? No. You can have a bad season or a bad start, but the most important thing is how you end," he added.
"Rashy, for me, is one of the best players in the world. But he is facing difficulty. It's not only him and me, but the whole club.
"But he will come back. I know my killer will score some important goals for us. Hopefully, against City, he will score two, and we win the FA Cup."
There is also a lot of speculation around the club concerning the future of Erik ten Hag, with reports suggesting he could be relieved of his position no matter the result in Saturday’s final.
Onana, however, has thrown his support behind his manager, who he also worked with at Ajax for five years.
The Cameroon international said: "I'm not here to back him because he's big enough to back himself, but he's a really good guy, a positive coach and, tactically, he is good.
"If he had all his squad together, it would probably be different for him, for us, the club and the fans."
Scriptwriter Bellingham thrills England boss Southgate
Gareth Southgate said Jude Bellingham "writes his own scripts" after the England star sealed a 1-0 win for the Three Lions over Serbia.
The Real Madrid midfielder was on target in Gelsenkirchen to take his international tally to four goals, becoming just the second player to score at both the World Cup and Euros before the age of 21 in the process.
Bellingham timed his run into the penalty area to perfection to head Bukayo Saka's cross beyond Predrag Rajkovic, and put on yet another mature display way beyond his years.
"I mean he writes his own scripts doesn't he," Southgate told BBC Sport.
"The timing of his runs, it was a super bit of play in the build-up to the goal as well, and I thought at different moments all of our forward players looked dangerous."
Southgate maintained his record of winning the opening in all four of the major tournaments that he has been in the England dugout, with only Alf Ramsey having a better win rate at international competitions.
England dominated the first half, but were forced to grind out the victory against a revitalised Serbia side following the interval.
Southgate feels the way in which the game played out was good for his team heading into the encounter with Denmark on Thursday, though.
"That's the reality of tournaments," said Southgate when asked if the victory was tougher than he was expecting.
"They are a strong team, and we had to suffer a bit which I think is really good for us to come through and defend out box the way we did was important for the group.
"We obviously had good chances to extend our lead and to kill the game which we didn't manage to take, so I was really pleased with a lot of the play, especially the first half."
England were limited to just five shots throughout the contest, with Harry Kane coming closest in the second half as he saw his header brilliantly tipped onto the crossbar by Rajkovic.
Southgate referenced the difficulty of playing against Serbia's compact defensive rearguard, but was confident his forward line will be firing on all cylinders in the fixtures that follow.
"Today was just the finishing and a good save from the goalkeeper with the header towards the end. But that will come," he added.
"I am confident that we will score goals. We were playing against a back five which is not easy to create chances but we did and in the end, one was enough.
"I liked the fact that we had to suffer a bit without the ball because I think that is an area we have worked on a lot this week, and we were obviously so much better than we were last week in doing that."
Ten Hag reveals Man Utd future was settled 'on holiday in Ibiza'
Erik ten Hag revealed his Manchester United future was settled whilst on holiday in Ibiza, though he is yet to agree a contract extension at Old Trafford.
The Dutchman's future with the Red Devils was in doubt following a disappointing 2023-24 season, in which they recorded their lowest Premier League finish of eighth.
Although Ten Hag, who has a year remaining on his existing contract, did lead United to FA Cup glory following a 2-1 victory over rivals Manchester City in the final at Wembley.
The club's new co-owner Jim Ratcliffe reportedly spoke to several candidates to potentially replace the Dutchman, including former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel.
Ten Hag confirmed this, before United officials visited him to confirm he would remain in charge, and they would extend his stay at Old Trafford.
"The club management came to me while I was on holiday in Ibiza," he told Dutch TV channel NOS. "They suddenly showed up on my doorstep and told me they wanted to continue with me."
"Ineos took their time. They are new to football; it's normal to reflect on the season. It's no secret that they talked with multiple candidates.
"In the Netherlands, that is not done. You are not even allowed to talk to another club if there is a current manager there. But in England, the rules and laws are different.
"Manchester United have told me that they spoke with Tuchel, but they eventually came to the conclusion that they already have the best manager.
"We had a good discussion and various topics were discussed. One of the conclusions is that we will extend the contract, but we still have to reach an agreement."
No changes as Brazil confirm final Copa America squad
Dorival Junior has stuck with the same 26-man squad he provisionally selected for Brazil's 2024 Copa America campaign.
Juventus' Bremer, Atalanta midfielder Ederson and Porto forward Pepe were all called up when CONMEBOL announced the squads were being expanded from 23 players to 26.
The Brazilian had already had to make changes after Manchester City's Ederson was ruled out due to an injury sustained at the end of the Premier League season, with Rafael brought in to replace him.
Lucas Paqueta also keeps his place after the Brazilian Football Association (CBF) confirmed he would be allowed to stay with the squad despite being charged by the England Football Association (FA) for allegedly breaching betting rules.
Casemiro, Gabriel Jesus and Thiago Silva had already been left out of the provisional squad announced in May, while Richarlison and Neymar are both missing due to injury.
Brazil are nine-time winners of the Copa America and will begin their campaign against Costa Rica on June 24 before also facing Paraguay and Colombia in Group D.
Final Brazil squad: Alisson (Liverpool), Bento (Atletico PR), Rafael (Sao Paolo), Beraldo (PSG), Bremer (Juventus), Eder Militao (Real Madrid), Gabriel (Arsenal), Marquinhos (PSG), Danilo (Juventus), Yan Couto (Girona), Guilherme Arana (Atletico MG), Wendell (Porto), Andreas Pereira (Fulham), Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle), Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa), Ederson (Atalanta), Joao Gomes (Wolves), Lucas Paqueta (West Ham), Endrick (Palmeiras), Evanilson (Porto), Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal), Pepe (Porto), Raphinha (Barcelona), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Savinho (Girona), Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid).
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