(Football news) Cristiano Ronaldo has decided to not travel with Manchester United as they depart for Thailand and Australia for pre-season. The club have granted the 37 year old additional time off due to a “family issue” while the player has submitted a transfer request in order to leave the club. Publicly, the club have reiterated that Ronaldo is under contract and not for sale while the player has been training at Portugal's training base – Cidade do Futebol – for the past few days.

Manchester United will face arch rivals Liverpool in Bangkok on July 12 followed by Melbourne Victory three days later in Australia and Crystal Palace on July 19th. They will then take on Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa on July 23rd before facing Atletico Madrid on July 30th in Oslo. Their last preseason match is on July 31st against Rayo Vallecano in England. Ronaldo could yet feature for Manchester United if the club do not accept offers for the 37 year old who will also find it hard to find suitors, especially considering his wages. Ronaldo currently earns £25m, a figure that not many clubs can afford or are willing to pay for a short term transfer. 

One of the biggest reasons for Ronaldo looking for a transfer away is Manchester United’s failure in the transfer market so far as well as the lack of Champions League football next season. The Portuguese superstar has never played in the Europa League and doesn’t wish to spend the twilight of his career at a club that’s not competing for the highest honours. While a transfer to another English club remains difficult, Jorge Mendes has spoken to Bayern Munich about a potential transfer but the German club are unwilling to break their wage structure in order to accommodate the 37 year old. Manchester United’s best bet would be to strengthen their squad with the likes of Frenkie De Jong, Lisandro Martínez and Antony in order to convince Ronaldo to stay.

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