Cristiano Ronaldo drops new Manchester United selection hint to Erik ten Hag

Cristiano Ronaldo has sent a three-word message to Erik ten Hag after the wantaway Manchester United superstar trained with his teammates at Carrington on Thursday morning.

Speculation over Ronaldo continues to mount after the five-time Ballon d'Or winner expressed a desire to leave United, only 12 months after his sensational return to the club. Several teams including Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and Chelsea distanced themselves with a high-profile move for him.

Ronaldo finally returned to pre-season after the summer tour to Thailand and Australia and played in the pre-season clash against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday afternoon. It was his first appearance since last season and United are now gearing up for their Premier League curtain raiser.

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Ten Hag has hinted that the Brighton game may come too soon for Ronaldo as he continues to play catch-up with his teammates in terms of match fitness. But after being spotted during their latest session this morning, the former Real Madrid striker has dropped a hint over his fitness in a message posted on Instagram.

Addressing his 473million followers on the social media platform, he uploaded pictures from the session and added a short caption which featured 'prayer' and 'strong arms' emojis. It read: "Step by step."

Speaking about Ronaldo to Viaplay before his first summer appearance, Ten Hag said: "He will be in the squad. We'll see how long he can play [against Rayo Vallecano].

"I cannot tell in this moment [how fit Ronaldo is]. He is not on the level of the rest of the squad because he missed a lot of weeks, but he needs games and he needs training, a lot."

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