Man Utd allow Ronaldo to miss return while Tyrell Malacia arrives for medical
Cristiano Ronaldo has failed to report back for pre-season training with Manchester United – as the club close in on a deal for Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia.
And his no show will cast further doubts over his future at the fallen giants. The Portuguese icon was expected back to Carrington this morning along with the rest of United's international stars who had been given an extra week off.
But new United boss Erik Ten Hag was told Ronaldo, 37, would not be turning up. United have cited "family reasons" for why Ronaldo's return has been put on hold and insists the club accepts his explanation.
But the news will do nothing to convince United that Ronaldo wants to remain at Old Trafford and see out the remaining 12 months on his £500,000-a-week deal. United have told Ronaldo he is not for sale and that they want him to be on their pre-season tour of the Far East and Australia. The squad leave for Bangkok on Friday, but it remains to be seen if Ronaldo will be on the team plane.
Ronaldo wants to be playing Champions League football next season and has told United he wants to leave them to find a new club. He has played 19 consecutive seasons in the Champions League, where he remains the competition's top goalscorer and leading appearance maker. And Ronaldo wants to make it 20 seasons in a row in the Champions League, with Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Napoli all keen on signing him.
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United, meanwhile, are poised to complete the £13m signing of Feyenoord defender Malacia. Netherlands international Malacia has travelled to Manchester to complete his medical and his signing is expected to be confirmed in the next 24 hours. Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford has opened up on how the club's players felt during their first training sessions under Ten Hag. The 24-year-old admits there are plenty of positives already ahead of the new season, as well as admitting that he needed the pre-season break in order to get ready for the upcoming campaign. "We have got that feeling of excitement and that buzz around the training ground again and so it is definitely positive going into pre-season," Rashford told United’s club website.
"I feel like I probably needed that time to switch off a little bit and me having that time enabled me to refocus a lot earlier than I expected to be honest. I feel ready and focused so when that first game does come it’s good to know you have done almost six weeks of training beforehand. It will definitely be a positive."
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