July 04, (THEWILL) – Cristiano Ronaldo will not return for preseason practice with Manchester United on Monday, due to “family reasons”, which the club has accepted.
After United’s poor season, which saw them unable to qualify for the UEFA Champions League next season, Ronaldo informed United that he would like to leave Old Trafford and requested to be allowed to exit if they received a good offer for him this summer.
All other players who played for their nations during the most recent international break are scheduled to report back for pre-season training on Monday, but uncertainty regarding Ronaldo’s attendance was unavoidable in the wake of the news of his request.
Though no specific timetable for Ronaldo’s return has been established, United has officially acknowledged that he will not be there. On Friday, the team is scheduled to depart on their preseason tour of Australia and Thailand.
In recent days, a number of teams, including Chelsea and Bayern Munich, have been connected with a bid for Ronaldo, but United openly insist that they will not let him go at this time. Although new manager Erik ten Hag has not yet seen Ronaldo in person, he has always wanted the star to stay for the remainder of his contract. Ronaldo has one year left on his contract with the option of an additional year.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
