Cristiano Ronaldo expected to join Manchester United for MCG friendly against Melbourne Victory

Former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke says he expects Cristiano Ronaldo to join the Premier League giants when they visit Melbourne to play the Victory at the MCG later this year.

United will play Victory in a preseason match on July 15, in addition to a fixture against Premier League rivals Crystal Palace at the MCG four days later.

Yorke — who played for United when it faced the Socceroos at the MCG in 1999 — was in Melbourne on Thursday to join the Victorian government in announcing the club's visit to the city.

He said Ronaldo was likely to make the trip to Australia.

«He is our player. He is contracted for another season as well,» Yorke said.

«So we expect all the players to be here and that's why we are here. The World Cup usually takes [place] in June and July but that is not the case because we know the World Cup is later on this year.

»So, we expect all the players to be here."

United's last visit to Australia was in 2019.

«It's a fantastic game to showcase a club like Manchester United in our country,» Victory coach Tony Popovic said in a club statement.

«It's a great opportunity to showcase our club, Melbourne Victory, to the world and a chance for our members and fans to see a special organisation and a club with such a big history.

»It's a great opportunity for our players to come up against the very best and see how they match up against them.

«You see what they can do every week on the TV and then when you come up against them on the pitch, you want to test yourself against it, so it will inspire all of them to get to the level they want to.»

United defeated the Socceroos 2-0 at the MCG in the first match of its Australian tour in 1999, before winning 1-0 in the second fixture at Sydney's Olympic stadium.

Victo