Manchester United are continuing to refuse sell superstar attacker Cristiano Ronaldo, despite the 37-year-old leaving Old Trafford before full-time of Sunday's draw with Rayo Vallecano.
Ronaldo had been making his first appearance of the summer having demanded he be allowed to depart the Red Devils at the end of last season. So far, United have refused to accept that demand, with Ronaldo's options for a new club growing smaller by the day.
That has not stopped the attacker continuing to insist that he wants to play in the Champions League next season. He missed United's pre-season tour of Asia and Australia due to 'personal reasons' and only returned to the fold last week.
His return to training led to a place in the squad for the visit of Vallecano on Sunday, United's final friendly of pre-season. But having been absent for virtually all of the summer, Erik ten Hag opted to bring him off at half-time.
As his team-mates played out a 1-1 draw with the La Liga side, Ronaldo took the opportunity to head home early. He was seen leaving Old Trafford before the final whistle, rather than take to the bench or the stands to see the end of the game.
While Ronaldo remains keen to leave the club, the Daily Star report that United are 'adamant' that he is not for sale. Instead, they are said to be 'determined' to stop him from leaving this summer.
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Despite the continuing saga around his future, boss Ten Hag is keen to see Ronaldo stay in Manchester for the final year of his contract. As they attempt to keep him, they will also not take any action to punish him for leaving Old Trafford early on Sunday.
Ronaldo still wants to cut his return to United short though, instructing agent Jorge Mendes to find him a new club. When it became clear he would not be joining the tour of Asia and Australia, Ten Hag insisted that Ronaldo remained part of his plans.
"We are planning for Cristiano Ronaldo for the season and that's it. I'm looking forward to working with him. I have read [that he wants to leave], but what I say is Cristiano is not for sale, he is in our plans and we want success together," he said in June.
"I spoke with him before this issue came up, I had a conversation with him and I had a good talk. That is between Cristiano and me, what I can confirm is we had a really good conversation together."
United start the Premier League season next week by taking on Brighton, though it would appear unlikely that Ronaldo will start. Following the defeat to Atletico Madrid on Saturday, Ten Hag revealed that the attacker's match fitness was not at the required stage to be seriously considered for action.
"Tomorrow he will be in the squad. 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," Ten Hag told Viaplay.
