Nedum Onuoha has confessed that he cried when he transferred from Manchester City to Sunderland. The 39-year-old also admitted to having a dislike for his previous manager, Roberto Mancini.
Onuoha moved to Manchester when he was five years old and grew up supporting City. He has represented them since the age of ten, rising through the ranks to make his first-team debut in 2004.
He played for the senior squad for nearly a decade before falling out with manager Mancini. Onuoha moved to the Black Cats on loan in 2010, knowing that his future had already been decided during preseason. He claims the transfer made him cry.
On In The Mixer, brought to you by Sky Bet, Onuoha said: This offer came in, and they told me to accept it. I recall crying because I didn’t want to leave the City.
I had never considered quitting my job before. Because it was my club, my city, and my friends were present. I’m driving up to Sunderland next, and I’m confused. But it turned out to be one of my favorite seasons. I resided by the North Sea in what used to be Paul Gascoigne’s residence.
I felt like I grew up there since I got a taste of something different. The goal was to finish in the top ten, which we accomplished on the final day of the season. It was a fantastic season. But I recall the week before the season ended, sitting in that house watching City win the FA Cup and thinking to myself, “I want to be back there. ” That feeling is unique.
For us to finish mid-table in the Premier League was fantastic, but it did not feel the same as it did at City. But I didn’t like him [Mancini]. He knew I didn’t like him. He was essentially treating me like a moron.
Onuoha revealed after leaving City that Kompany immediately asked for his shirt number, long before the Belgian became a club icon and four-time Premier League champion.
When I first signed, my number was 16, but as I was leaving, it was four, he said. As I leave, Vincent Kompany wants the number four. But he was a defensive midfielder.
It was like, “Of course you may have my number, Vinny… ” That kind of thing. However, the number four legacy is now connected with Vincent Kompany.
Onuoha returned to the Etihad after his loan term and joined Queens Park Rangers in 2012. He lived in west London until 2018, when he joined Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake before calling time on his career two years later.
