MANCHESTER UNITED take on Brighton in their opening Premier League fixture.
But talisman Cristiano Ronaldo is not in the starting XI.
Why isn’t Cristiano Ronaldo playing for Man Utd against Brighton?
Cristiano Ronaldo will likely come off the bench for Manchester United at Old Trafford.
He missed most of pre-season and played for 45 minutes in a friendly against Rayo Vallecano last week, but is not yet match fit.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has made clear to the United hierarchy his desire to leave the club and refused to report back for training until about 10 days ago.
JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET A FREE £10 BONUS WITH 100s OF GAMES TO PLAY AND NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED (Ts&Cs apply)
READ MORE MAN UTD NEWS
When will Cristiano Ronaldo return?
Manchester United’s tour of South East Asia and Australia concluded earlier on this month which Ronaldo did not play any part of.
And his absence continued in their match against Aston Villa in Perth on Saturday, July 23.
However, the Portuguese icon is set to feature in the second friendly against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, July 31 where he confirmed it by saying ‘Sunday the king plays’.
Most read in Sport
Ronaldo’s future is very much up in the air but new United boss Erik Ten Hag is adamant that footballing legend is not for sale.
The former Ajax manager said: “We are planning with Cristiano Ronaldo for the season and that’s it and I’m looking forward to working with him.
“I have read things but what I say is Cristiano is not for sale, he is in our plans and we want success together.
“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.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
