Credit:PA
Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed he is set to make his Manchester United return in Sunday’s friendly against Rayo Vallecano at Old Trafford.
The 37-year-old striker missed United’s pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia due to family reasons amid reports he wants to quit the club.
Ronaldo returned to United’s training ground earlier this week to discuss his future with new boss Erik ten Hag.
He suggested on Instagram he would feature in United’s final pre-season friendly match against Rayo at Old Trafford, saying: “Sunday, the King plays”.
Ronaldo was filmed arriving at Old Trafford moments ago.
Manager Erik ten Hag has said that the superstar is a long way behind the rest in terms of fitness.
This pic might make you think differently though…
Ronaldo and his agent Jorge Mendes held meetings with United at Carrington on Tuesday, but his position remains unchanged and he wants to play for a club in the Champions League and win major trophies.
“Tomorrow he will be in the squad,” Ten Hag told Viaplay after his side’s loss. “We’ll see how long he can play,
“I cannot tell in this moment (how fit he is). He is not on the level of the rest of the squad because he missed a lot of weeks. But he needs games and he needs training, a lot.”
Michael Carrick joined Manchester United from Tottenham on this day in 2006.
United paid £18.6million for the then 25-year-old England midfielder, who went on to spend the rest of his playing career at Old Trafford and make 464 appearances for the club.
He won five Premier League titles, the Champions League, Europa League, FA Cup, two League Cups and the FIFA Club World Cup before retiring in 2018.
Related: Ronaldo: Alex Ferguson arriving at Manchester United’s training ground splits opinion
