André Onana:football was being taken away from me
In a hurry he took his wifes medicine which led to his woes that made him get a 12 month ban from Uefa that was later reduced to 9 after an appeal.
That was of little consolation to Onana, who was left devastated by being ostracised from the game he loves.
"I am a human being who was away from my friends, family and football. This time in my life has been dark and tough," Onana admits in an exclusive interview with.
"I want to say, with these things, the young guys need to be careful as it can happen to anyone. They need to pay attention because sh*t happens in life.
"When it happened, I thought, 'How am I going to explain to my parents that I have been banned for drugs when I never even smoke or drink alcohol?' I’ve not even had a taste of shisha.
"It was a mistake and UEFA even recognised that fact, but it didn’t help me. I had already received my punishment.""For my parents, it was hard. People who know me were asking 'How is it possible that this guy we know to be professional has been done for drugs?'
Before the ban, the 25-year-old had already won every possible domestic honour at Netherlands' biggest club, Ajax and played in a Champions League semi-final and the Europa League final.
That's because Onana had no intention of letting his suspension derail his career, undertaking a personal designed training program in Salou near his former club Barcelona.
"I was not allowed to do so many things," he explains. "I couldn’t go to any stadium, I had to book everything for myself, I wasn’t allowed to train with any coach of Ajax, I wasn’t allowed to work with any professional coaching lessons.
"I was banned for nine months from all that. Somehow, in the beginning, for a second, it felt like football was being taken from me as I wasn’t allowed to do anything at all.
"It was like 'Wow! This is tough.' So, we figured out some things. I went to Spain with a private goalkeeping coach, my physios and my mental coach."It was a nice atmosphere away at Besiktas. I was like, 'Sh*t, I am back at it again!' But thank God everything went well."I had seven people working for me. These guys helped me so much and nine months felt like five. I didn’t expect to play for Ajax so soon but they played me in the Champions League (last month).
"I am back in business. I am back with the same mindset to become the best goalkeeper in the world."
That ambition is not unrealistic, with Onana making the Ballon d'Or shortlist in 2019.
"A black goalkeeper will win it," he continued. "It doesn’t matter whether it is today, tomorrow, or after tomorrow. One day, it will happen.
"Mendy almost did and had an amazing season. He didn’t win this time but I hope he will next time.
"I was the first one to be there, so I want to fight to win it. It is a good challenge for all of us because when I see this generation there’s loads of good young goalies.
He maintains strong ties to Cameroon through the Andre Onana Foundation, which helps blind children.
To further help the cause, he has signed up with Common Goal, a movement which encourages footballers to pledge at least one percent of their salaries to a charitable fund.
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