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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Charlie Wilson

Manchester United fans joke they have a new No.7 after odd detail emerges in training

Manchester United fans joked that they might have a new No.7 after Diogo Dalot donned a training top with Cristiano Ronaldo's number on it during an open training session in Australia. United are now in Perth ahead of their final pre-season game Down Under against Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa on Friday.

Ronaldo did not report for pre-season training at the club's Carrington training complex three weeks ago and has been absent from their tour of Thailand and Australia due to a family issue.

Two days before United's internationals were due to return to the club for pre-season training, it emerged that the Portuguese star wished to leave United over their failure to qualify for the Champions League and slow movement in the transfer market.

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Amid Ronaldo's desire to leave, some United fans joked that Diogo Dalot could take his compatriot's number - after training in a No.7 top.

There was a time at United when training kit numbers did not directly correspond to squad numbers, but that is no longer the case. Every other player present was wearing training gear with their squad number on it, while Dalot himself was also donning shorts carrying his usual number 20, making it a tad bizarre that he was wearing any gear with a different number on it.

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