Manchester United star <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/cristiano-ronaldo/" target="_blank">Cristiano Ronaldo</a> was thrust back into the limelight on Sunday as he started the friendly against Rayo Vallecano at Old Trafford. After months of speculation over his future in <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/manchester-united/" target="_blank">Manchester </a>and his decision to miss United's<a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2022/07/08/cristiano-ronaldo-to-miss-start-of-man-united-pre-season-tour-to-thailand/" target="_blank"> pre-season tours of Thailand and Australia</a>, the Portuguese star finally got a chance to put on the Red Devils shirt and play under new manager Erik ten Hag. The Portugal international, who has a year left on his United deal, was also not included in the squad for Saturday's 1-0 friendly defeat to Atletico Madrid in Oslo. "He will be in the squad. We'll see how long he can play," Ten Hag earlier told the club website. On Sunday, Ronaldo started the game but was subbed at half-time. His replacement Amad Diallo made an immediate impact as he found the back on the net three minutes after coming on. It has been a tough period for Ronaldo. The 37-year-old reportedly wanted to play for another team after only one year back at Old Trafford, with United not in the Champions League this season or in shape to compete with the best teams in England. Ten Hag said earlier this month that he was looking forward to working with the Portugal captain who was their top scorer last season with 24 goals in all competitions. United, however, finished sixth in the league to miss out on Champions League qualification and will play in the second-tier Europa League this season.
