The 37-year-old did not join Erik ten Hag’s side when the internationals returned for pre-season training on Monday and did not report for the next three days. Ronaldo has not yet returned to United due to family reasons and the club confirmed he has been given extra time to deal with the matter. Cristiano Ronaldo will now miss Manchester United’s pre-season tour of Australia and Thailand United’s return to pre-season training came just days after Ronaldo shocked United chiefs after informing them of his desire to leave Old Trafford this summer. The 37-year-old has become disillusioned with the direction the club is heading and, approaching the final years of his professional career, is desperate to play in the Champions League while he still can. United will tour Thailand and Australia for two weeks before returning to England for the start of the Premier League season in August and it always looked unlikely that Ronaldo would join his team-mates for the tour once it was learned he wanted to leave the club. Ronaldo’s future has posed an immediate early problem for new boss Erik ten Hag United’s tour will see them take on fierce rivals Liverpool Bangkok on Tuesday before visiting Melbourne to face Melbourne Victory and then Crystal Palace before finishing the tour with a clash with Aston Villa on July 23. Ronaldo is now being chased by Napoli, as well as Chelsea, but the club insist he is not for sale after confirming he will miss the pre-season tour due to family reasons. A United spokesman said: “Cristiano Ronaldo will not be part of the Manchester United departure party scheduled to depart in preparation for our tour of Thailand and Australia on Friday. He was given extra leave to attend to a family matter.’ as reported by the MEN. “Cristiano remains under contract with Manchester United for another season and is not for sale.” New Chelsea owner Todd Bohli interested in signing Ronaldo this summer While it is unclear when Ronaldo will rejoin United’s players if he remains at the club, it is believed that images of him will still feature at the club’s official shirt launch on Friday despite his uncertain future. Despite United’s steadfast stance that they do not want to sell the player who has a year left on his deal, there was speculation on Thursday that the club would listen to offers of around £13m – the same amount they paid to re-sign him from Juventus before from a year. . Chelsea owner Todd Boehly is believed to be considering a bid after talks with Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes, with Napoli watching from the sidelines. The rest of the team have returned to Carrington this week, but without their star The saga is already likely to prove a headache for new manager Erik ten Hag, who is still finding his feet at United after inheriting a morale-shooting squad this summer following a disastrous 2021-22 season where they lacked serious performances to win a place in the Europa League and sixth place. position on the final day of the Premier League season. While sections of United fans have been up in arms over Ronaldo’s attitude, Rio Ferdinand believes his former team-mate has every right to demand a departure. “Of course he’s not happy!” Ferdinand said on his FIVE YouTube channel. “You’re talking about Cristiano Ronaldo here! I don’t see how it’s a big story that Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t happy with the situation at Manchester United. Can not be. I would not be. “Anyone who wants to win football matches or trophies, anyone who is used to winning and competing every year at the top of the table for the biggest prizes, and suddenly it’s not – and it’s not even qualifying for the Champions League – you can’t sit here and you expect them to be happy. Rio Ferdinand believes Ronaldo has every right to feel sad about United’s current state Former United defender Ferdinand was a teammate of Ronaldo between 2003 and 2009. “He’s not happy about losing the Champions League, he doesn’t even know what the Europa League soundtrack sounds like! When this happens, he will be thinking “what dance am I in here?” Some United fans have accused Ronaldo of refusing to train in a bid to secure his sacking, but Ferdinand has hit back at those claims. “I’ve seen people be disrespectful,” he said. “The way people are wondering ‘it’s not here’ and the hysteria surrounding it. A family member is not well, so he is not at training. “This is the most perfect, the most professional athlete we have seen on these shores. The most professional athlete we have seen in over 15 years and people are questioning the professionalism of this guy and why he is not on the field. “Yes, he may want to leave, he may not be happy with certain things in the football club, but in terms of professionalism, this guy is training where he is – we’ve seen the pictures. His family is there, they have to be where they are and you have to respect that. Simple as. Could it have been better communicated by the club? Probably.’
