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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Daniel Murphy

Cristiano Ronaldo arrives at Old Trafford ahead of Manchester United vs Rayo Vallecano

Cristiano Ronaldo has arrived at Old Trafford ahead of his return to action for Manchester United.

Erik ten Hag will take charge of his side's final friendly of pre-season on Sunday as they take on Rayo Vallecano in Manchester. It's expected to be a largely second-string side, however, as a strong United starting XI fell to a 1-0 defeat against Atletico Madrid in Oslo on Saturday.

The manager has confirmed that the 11 players who started in Norway won't be involved against Vallecano but one player who is set to start is Ronaldo. The No.7 hasn't been involved in any of United's pre-season friendlies so far as he missed the tour of Thailand and Australia due to family reasons.

ALSO READ: Manchester United vs Rayo Vallecano LIVE

It's also amid uncertainty surrounding his future at the club as he made it public he wants to leave in the summer transfer window, a stance he reiterated earlier this week when holding crunch talks alongside agent Jorge Mendes with Ten Hag. Despite his desire to leave, however, no suitors have come forward.

Fans of Atletico Madrid even protested the idea of signing a legend of their fierce rivals Real Madrid when the side was linked with a move. The 37-year-old was responding to comments about the protest and his meeting with Erik ten Hag on social media on Friday and he also revealed he would be making a return to action on Sunday. Replying to an Instagram post about his omission from the United squad in Norway, he responded: “Sunday the king plays."

The Portuguese has been pictured arriving at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon ahead of the 4pm kick-off and is likely to be involved from the start. Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez, Tom Heaton, Shola Shoretire, Zidane Iqbal, Alejandro Garnacho and Eric Bailly have all been spotted arriving as well.

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