Nemanja Matić has blasted André Onana's claim that Manchester United are "way better" than Lyon by branding the Cameroon international as "one of the worst goalkeepers in United's history."
Onana responded later on Wednesday by throwing shade at Matić, saying "not everyone" can say they have lifted a trophy at United -- Matić played in a series of finals during his five years at Old Trafford but left without winning any silverware.
Onana had been bullish about United's chances in their Europa League quarterfinal first leg in France on Thursday, saying ahead of the game that "I think we are way better than them."
Matić, who is now playing for Lyon, was asked about the comments at a pre-match news conference on Wednesday.
The Serbian midfielder hit back by savaging the form Onana has shown since joining United.
"You need to have cover to say something like that," said Matić, who made 189 appearances for United between 2017 and 2022.
"I respect everyone but to say that then you need to get an answer.
"If you are one of the worst goalkeepers in Man United's history, you need to take care about what you are talking about."
Andre Onana has responded to Nemanja Matic calling him 'one of the worst goalkeepers in Manchester United history' 👀 pic.twitter.com/Up13ticuTZ
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) April 9, 2025
Onana replaced David De Gea -- a former teammate of Matić -- as United's No.1 when he joined from Inter Milan in a deal worth more than £40 million ($51m).
The 29-year-old has been heavily criticised after making a series of mistakes since arriving in 2023.
United travel to Lyon on Wednesday sitting 13th in the Premier League and on the back of a run of just four wins from their last 12 games in all competitions.
Meanwhile, Lyon are fifth in Ligue 1 and have six of their last seven games.
"If David De Gea, Peter Schmeichel or [Edwin] van der Sar said that, then I would question myself," Matić said.
"But if you are statistically one of the worst goalkeepers in Man United's modern history, he needs to show that before he says. We will see."
In response, Onana posted a picture on X of himself lifting last season's FA Cup and wrote: "I would never be disrespectful to another club. We know that tomorrow will be a difficult game against a strong opponent.
"We focus on preparing a performance to make our fans proud. At least I've lifted trophies with the greatest club in the world. Some can't say the same."
Man United manager Ruben Amorim said that Matić has misconstrued Onana's comments.
"Tomorrow it will not matter," he told a news conference later on Wednesday. "If you see the full quote of Andre Onana it's quite different. The first sentence is that we know it's a very, very good team. Sometimes the players or coaches don't listen to the full quote and sometimes it's a misunderstanding. I know Matic, he's a great guy.
"It's really hard to deal with that [for Onana], that is for sure. If you go through all the quotes, you cannot see any disrespect there. Just respect but trying to give confidence and show confidence in his team. Especially this year.
"Everybody can talk bad things about Manchester United. Sometimes our group -- players, coaches, staff -- has to show some confidence in our team. I think that's all. I think he [Matic] hears some things by half. Not the whole story. For me that's clear in this situation."