In what was his first pre-season game, Cristiano Ronaldo got subbed off after just 45 minutes in Manchester United’s 1-1 draw against Rayo Vallecano. Ronaldo didn’t wait for the entire game and left Old Trafford 15 minutes before the final whistle.

So far, United have played five out of their six pre-season friendlies in the absence of Ronaldo, who was the club’s highest goal-scorer last season. Ronaldo only confirmed his comeback to training after he failed to secure a move away from the club. Both Bayern Munich and Chelsea – two clubs rumoured to sign him – have distanced themselves from the ageing striker. 

Given Ronaldo’s insistence to leave his club, it was surprising to see the home fans at Old Trafford welcoming him with a rousing reception. The shout of ‘SIUUU’ echoed throughout the stadium as he emerged from the tunnel.

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However, he couldn’t do much in the game, and was replaced by the teenage sensation Amad Diallo, who netted the opening goal for United in just three minutes.

Soon after being taken off, Ronaldo was seen leaving the stadium, along with Diago Dalot. Man Utd fans were not pleased with this, and many felt the club should have terminated his contract if he’s not happy to stay here.

One fan wrote, “Ronaldo said “Sunday the king returns” only for him to be subbed off for Amad who scored 3 minutes later and then leaves the stadium before the game finished this guy wants out so bad it’s hilarious.”

He was also involved in a verbal duel with the head coach Erik ten Haag, who always wants his strikers to press high and hard. There has been a lot of talks about ten Haag’s philosophy, which is almost anti-thesis to Ronaldo’s playing style. 

Earlier, ten Haag had said that Ronaldo, having missed most of the training sessions, is not at his fluent best, which was quite evident in his performance against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday. 

“I cannot tell in this moment. He is definitely not on the level of our current squad, because he missed a lot of the week. So he needs games and he needs a lot of training,” said Erik ten Haag to Sky Sports.

Manchester United will be taking on Brighton in the opening fixture, on Sunday (August 7). While ten Haag had earlier indicated that the first-choice attacking quartet will be Bruno Fernandes, Jadon Sancho, Anthony Martial, and Marcus Rashford, the illness of Sancho may bring Ronaldo into the mix.

Featured Image: Cristiano Ronaldo/Twitter