Andre Onana responded to Nemanja Matic calling him "one of the worst goalkeepers in Manchester United's history" by poking fun at the Lyon midfielder's lack of silverware at Old Trafford.
Onana's bold claim that United were "way better" than Lyon prompted the war of words with Matic ahead of Thursday's Europa League quarter-final first leg.
Matic, who spent five years at Old Trafford, brutally hit back at Onana in his pre-match news conference on Wednesday.
"If you're one of the worst goalkeepers in Manchester United's history then you need to take care of what you are talking about," Matic said.
"If David De Gea, Peter Schmeichel or Edwin van der Sar said that I would question myself but if you are statistically one of the worst goalkeepers in Manchester United's modern history, he needs to show that before he says it."
Onana, who won the FA Cup in his first season at United after signing from Inter Milan for around £47m, was quick to respond with a pointed comment about Matic's lack of silverware at Old Trafford.
"I would never be disrespectful to another club," Onana wrote in a post on social media.
"We know that [Thursday] 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."
Signed by Jose Mourinho in 2017 for £40m, Matic did, in fact, spend five trophyless years at Old Trafford.
He also featured in sides that finished second in the Premier League in 2017/18 under Mourinho and in 2020/21 under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Onana, meanwhile, was United's starting goalkeeper for their FA Cup win over Man City under Erik ten Hag.
United were also eighth in Onana's first season, their worst finish of the Premier League era. That record is in danger of being broken again, with the team currently 13th with seven games left to play.
What did Onana say about Lyon?
Onana was in confident mood when he spoke to the press after keeping his ninth Premier League clean sheet of the season in Sunday's drab derby draw with Manchester City.
Asked about Lyon ahead of Thursday's quarter-final first leg, he said: "It's a very good team. We know some of them but I don't think we have to focus on them. It's more about us, what we're going to do.
"I think we are better than them, we just have to go there and show who we are. If we go there with a winning mentality and we are focused, stay compact and together and we follow the game plan we will be winning the game.
"Of course, it's not going to be easy, but I think we are way better than them. We all know the importance of this game, we will go there with the winning mentality, it's not our best season but we still have something to win and we will go for it."
Skysports