Cristiano Ronaldo has suggested he is fully fit and raring to go when Manchester United face Brentford on Saturday... after going the extra mile in training.
Ronaldo was left on the bench by Erik ten Hag for United’s season-opening Premier League match against Brighton on Sunday. The 37-year-old had played just 45 minutes of football in pre-season after missing the tour to Thailand and Australia and was deemed not fit enough to start at Old Trafford.
That was despite United being without a recognised centre-forward following the hamstring injury sustained by Anthony Martial in the run-up to the fixture. Ten Hag opted to play new signing Christian Eriksen as a withdrawn striker before turning to Ronaldo in the 53rd minute when his side were 2-0 down against Brighton, who went on to win 2-1.
Ten Hag is now be under mounting pressure from fans to start Ronaldo in their 5.30pm kick-off at Brentford on Saturday evening. And Ronaldo, who will try to catch his manager's eye at training on Thursday, has sent a subtle message to his manager and his teammates before the crucial match.
Alongside a picture of his sprinting in training, he wrote on Instagram, “Hard work always pays off,” along with a praying and strong arm emoji. The post went out to his 475million followers and was liked nearly 4m times in just 14 hours at the time of writing.
United staged a behind-closed-doors friendly against Halifax on Monday in an attempt to tune up their players following the defeat by Brighton, although Ronaldo was not involved. Ronaldo did, however, take part in United's training session at Carrington on Wednesday and clearly believes he deserves to start this weekend.
Ronaldo’s situation in Ten Hag’s thoughts is made all the more complicated by his desire to leave the club this summer. The Portuguese star has made it clear he wants to leave United in order to play Champions League football elsewhere.
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United have been firm in their stance that he is not for sale and that they expect him to fulfil his current contract, which runs to June 2023. There have been tentative links with other clubs, including Sporting Lisbon, Atletico Madrid and Corinthians, but nothing has come of them yet.
The summer transfer window closes on September 1, meaning Ronaldo is running out of time to find a suitor. His main problem is that no other club can afford to pay his colossal £500,000-a-week wages.
The saga is reportedly taking its toll on the United dressing room, with a growing number of players now tired of Ronaldo’s antics. There is said to be a growing consensus preferring him to leave the club this summer.
Ten Hag has insisted that he has enough strikers on his books already, amid rumours about the club’s transfer targets. “I don't go into names because I think, in this pre-season, 250 players are involved or linked to Man United," he said on Sunday. "We have two strikers, maybe a third one with [Marcus] Rashford as well, you could see him as a striker.”
