Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo could only watch from the sidelines as his celebration was mimicked by a Wrexham player during a pre-season friendly at Carrington on Wednesday.
The Portugal captain, 37, played no part in the fixture and his future at Old Trafford remains uncertain as he pushes to leave for a club which can offer him Champions League football this season. He missed the Red Devils' tour of Thailand and Australia for 'family reasons' and only returned to their headquarters this week for showdown talks with manager Erik ten Hag.
United legend Sir Alex Ferguson was present for the discussions but Ronaldo remains reluctant to stay put this summer. It was no surprise he sat out the behind-closed-doors fixture against Wrexham, but he was one of the senior players who watched an inexperienced United line-up win 4-1 against the National League side.
While Christian Eriksen fired the hosts into the lead on his debut with a free kick, the teams entered the interval on level footing after Aaron Hayden levelled for the Welsh club. The defender, who was on the books at Chelsea and Wolves as an academy player, was clearly delighted to have scored against United and celebrated by copying Ronaldo's famous "siu" routine, as reported by Wrexham insiders and podcasters RobRyanRed.
Although the five-time Ballon d'Or winner will not have been best pleased to see his famous celebration copied, the Red Devils had the last laugh. Alejandro Garnacho, Amad and Alex Telles struck in the second half to secure what was, in the end, a comfortable victory for Ten Hag's side.
Eriksen was not the only debutant on the day, as Lisandro Martinez started in defence, fresh off his unveiling as a United player following his £55million arrival from Ajax. Upon putting pen to paper on his lucrative five-year deal, the Argentine declared he would give everything to making a success of his time at Old Trafford.
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"I will give my 100 per cent every game, in every training [session]," Martinez told MUTV. "For sure, also the team, we will do it. We will play as a team. For sure, I know the fans from Manchester United – I watch videos, and when I watch a game, and some opinions also, the fans from Manchester United are so passionate.
"But I like that passion, because football is about it also." United return to pre-season action in Norway on Saturday for a pre-season outing against Atletico Madrid before Rayo Vallecano come calling to Old Trafford the following day.
