37-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo beats Man United teammates in sprint to prove fitness ahead of Brentford clash on Saturday.
Due to a lack of fitness, Cristiano Ronaldo was not selected for United’s opening day match.
In order to demonstrate his fitness ahead of Manchester United’s upcoming Premier League match, Cristiano Ronaldo has been seen in training outpacing his teammates in a sprinting competition.
The Portuguese captain, who plans to leave United this summer in order to play in the Champions League, only received 45 minutes of preseason action, beginning in last Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Rayo Vallecano. He was excused by “family issues” for skipping the preseason tour of Thailand and Australia, which the club accepts.
According to a July 5 report from the Manchester Evening News, Cristiano Ronaldo is trying to leave Manchester United due to the club’s lack of activity in the transfer market and a salary reduction.
After a disastrous season in which they failed to win any trophies and were demoted to the Europa League, Ronaldo has grown impatient with their response of adding players.
A 25% salary cut for players as a result of United’s failure to make the Champions League has reportedly “upset” Ronaldo, according to sources close to the player. When he returned to United, Ronaldo signed a contract worth £480,000 per week, and his base weekly salary for the upcoming campaign is now £360,000.
There was speculation that Cristiano Ronaldo might have started the match against Brighton, but Christian Eriksen instead took the field as a false nine, which turned out to be disappointing.
Given that Ronaldo didn’t have as much of a preseason as his teammates, Ten Hag explained that the decision was based on Ronaldo’s match fitness.
And in a recent photo posted on the team’s official Twitter, Ronaldo was in the lead of the sprinters, perhaps trying to impress his manager ahead of Saturday’s game against Brentford.
