Photo shows Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Manchester United grounds before the match was finished
Getty/Simon Stacpoole
- Cristiano Ronaldo was substituted at half-time during a Manchester United match on Sunday.
- He then left the stadium before the final whistle, a photo shows.
- Speculation about Ronaldo's United future has been rife, with press reports saying he was trying to leave.
Cristiano Ronaldo left Old Trafford, Manchester United's home stadium, before the final whistle after being substituted during the club's pre-season match against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.
Ronaldo had missed all of United's pre-season campaign until the match, citing family reasons.
He announced his return to the squad on Saturday, posting a photo of himself on social media alongside the caption: "Sunday, the king plays."
The 37-year-old started against Vallecano but was hauled off by manager Erik ten Hag at half-time.
Photos taken by fans outside Old Trafford then showed him leaving the ground before the match finished. United defender Diogo Dalot, who was not in the squad for the game, was also pictured leaving the stadium at the same time.
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It is unclear whether the pair's early departure was sanctioned by ten Hag.
United did not immediately reply to Insider's request for comment, but told Sky Sports that the club had no issue with the players' leaving the ground early.
Ten Hag fielded a youthful team against Vallecano, with youngsters Ethan Laird, James Garner, Tahith Chong, and Alejandro Garnacho all starting the match.
Ronaldo started as the sole striker, but with the game goalless at half-time, the Dutch coach substituted the Portuguese forward, who had spurned an easy chance to score, for 20-year-old Amad Diallo.
Within three minutes of the restart, Diallo scored to give United the lead. Vallecano levelled shortly after through Álvaro García Rivera, with the match finishing 1-1.
Ten Hag said after that the match was "positive" despite his team not getting the victory.
"It was a mixture between experience and youth [today]," he said. "Some guys, they need to see today, for the first time, what you can expect. You saw the attitude was really great, really the intention to co-operate. They fight and work for each other.
"We create also a lot of chances and also conceded some chances. Overall, we have to be satisfied with this performance."
Ronaldo's future United has been uncertain
Speculation about Ronaldo's future at United has been rife in recent weeks.
Ronaldo reportedly informed United of his desire to leave the club last month before he missed the club's pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia.
He returned to Old Trafford last week with his agent Jorge Mendes to hold talks about his future, with ten Hag keen to see him remain.
But according to MailOnline, the talks failed to change Ronaldo's mind about wishing to leave and Mendes has since informed United that striker wants to be relinquished from his contract.
Replying last week to an Instagram account which had posted about his reported desire to leave United, Ronaldo appeared to deny he wanted out of Old Trafford.
"Impossible not to talk about me one day. Otherwise the press makes no money. You know that if you don't lie you can't get people's attention. Keep going that one day you get some news right," he wrote.