Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Old Trafford before end of friendly after being substituted at half-time

United drew 1-1 in their final pre-season friendly, but Ronaldo did not hang around to watch the end of the stalemate.

Rather than watch the second half on the bench, Ronaldo was pictured leaving the stadium with 10 minutes to go. Diogo Dalot, who was not in the squad, was also in the picture.

One eyewitness reported that Ronaldo, who wants to leave the club, looked unhappy as he walked briskly to the car park. Ronaldo, who was the only player to be substituted by Erik ten Hag at half-time, waved to fans before driving off. United declined to comment when asked if Ronaldo had permission to leave the stadium before the end of the match.

Ten Hag, the United manager, did not speak on the matter after the game. United had already decided before the match that Ten Hag would not hold a press conference after the final whistle. The Dutchman was not quizzed on the matter in his only post-match interview with the club’s in-house TV station, MUTV.

It was the first time that Ronaldo had played for the club in pre-season. It was revealed last month that he is keen to leave United because he wants to play in the Champions League next season. United will play in the Europa League, Europe’s secondary club competition, after finishing sixth in the Premier League last season. Atletico Madrid have been linked with the forward, who has one year left on his contract.

The five-times Ballon d’Or winner was given permission to miss United’s pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia last month due to family reasons. After being left out of the squad for Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in Oslo, Ten Hag said Ronaldo was lacking match fitness.

“He is definitely not on the level of our squad players at this moment because he misses a lot of weeks,” Ten Hag said. “He needs games and a lot of training.”

Ten Hag told all his squad members – even those who played in Oslo – that they had to be at Old Trafford for the match against Rayo. The likes of Marcus Rashford, David de Gea and Anthony Elanga were among a number of players in the directors’ box while other squad members watched from their own boxes.

Ten Hag told his players on Sunday morning that they must all eat lunch together before the friendly, which was played in front of a 68,000-plus crowd at Old Trafford.

Ronaldo drew a blank during his 45-minute appearance. He wasted United’s best chance of the first half, driving over Stole Dimitrievski’s goal from an acute angle.

The Portugal captain dropped deep occasionally and linked up well with his teammates, however. He also pressed the Rayo defence, as he had been instructed by Ten Hag.

The pair had an exchange of views halfway through the first half when Ten Hag spoke to Ronaldo during a break in play. As a Rayo player lay on the grass for treatment, Ronaldo and Ten Hag gesticulated to each other as they talked tactics.

Ronaldo received a largely positive response from the crowd when his name was read out before kick-off. There were many cheers and a smattering of boos, although a few of those may have actually been shouts of “Siuuu”, the catchphrase Ronaldo yells during his goal celebrations.

Ronaldo’s replacement, Amad Diallo, took less than three minutes to break the deadlock. The 20-year-old pounced when Dimitrievski spilled Alex Telles’s shot. It was the highlight of an otherwise mixed display that underlined how shallow Ten Hag’s squad is.

Rayo equalised nine minutes later through Alvaro Garcia, who tapped in after Tom Heaton had palmed away Isaac Palazon Camacho’s shot.

Most of the United first team did not play as they had started in the 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid the day before. There was an impressive display from Alejandro Garnacho, the 18-year-old Argentinian, while Lisandro Martinez and Christian Eriksen put in assured performances on their full debuts.

The attention of those present wandered so much in the second half that they started focusing on the flight of paper aeroplanes launched from the top tier of the Stretford End, rather than on the football.

Ten Hag has recorded three wins, two draws and one loss in pre-season. The Dutchman is confident about the upcoming season, which begins next Sunday when United host Brighton & Hove Albion.

“Overall, I am happy, we made a good pre-season,” Ten Hag said. “We make progress and we’re ready for the season but still I know there is a lot of room for improvement and we have to improve. It’s also a process that continues during the season but for next week, it’s about a result as well.

“The reception was fantastic. I felt the vibe they want to send to the team. There has to be co-operation between fans and the team so we get the right emotion and, especially, the right results.”

– The Times

Originally published as Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Old Trafford before end of friendly after being substituted at half-time