Man Utd grant Cristiano Ronaldo compassionate leave as family thank Liverpool fans for Anfield gesture of support

Manchester United have granted Cristiano Ronaldo compassionate leave for as long as he needs following the death of his baby son.

The 37-year-old and his partner, Georgina Rodriguez, announced in October that they were expecting twins.

But Ronaldo revealed on Monday that their baby son had died during childbirth, while their newborn daughter survived.

United were without their top goalscorer for last night’s damaging 4-0 defeat at Anfield, but will not rush their superstar striker back, despite crucial games against Arsenal and Chelsea on the horizon, according the Daily Mail.

Speaking ahead of last night’s match, interim United manager Ralf Rangnick offered his support to Ronaldo.

‘It once again showed there are more important things in life than football,’ he said. ‘The whole team, the whole club is with him. For me it was clear he had to be where is he now with his family.’

Liverpool and United fans, meanwhile, temporarily put their rivalries aside last night to offer support to the grieving superstar.

The home supporters sang their club’s anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ in the seventh minute – Ronaldo’s shirt number at United – while in the away end, a jersey, adorned with the Red Devils talismans’ name, was held aloft.

Ronaldo’s Madeira-based sister Elma displayed her emotion overnight by publishing footage of the gesture on her social media and writing: ‘Thank you for this Liverpool. We will never forget what you did today.’

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Sibling Katia, posting from her home in Brazil, wrote: ‘Way beyond football’ against her own video set against the chorus of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.

Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp, also