Manchester United will go on tour to Bangkok on Friday without Cristiano Ronaldo after giving the Portuguese superstar more time off for family reasons.

United still don’t know if Ronaldo will be able to join the four-game 16-day tour of Thailand and Australia at a later date amid uncertainty over his future at Old Trafford.

Ronaldo fears his hopes of leaving just a year after returning to United are fading after the club on Thursday doubled down on their assertion that he is not for sale.

Cristiano Ronaldo will now miss Manchester United’s pre-season tour of Australia and Thailand

Ronaldo’s future has provided an immediate early problem for new boss Erik ten Hag

United will back up that stance by including images of the 37-year-old wearing their new kit when it is officially unveiled on Friday morning even though he will not be on the plane to Bangkok with his teammates several hours later.

A club spokesman confirmed: ‘Cristiano Ronaldo will not be part of the Manchester United party scheduled to depart for our pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia on Friday. He has been granted additional time off to deal with a family issue.

‘Cristiano remains under contract with Manchester United for another season and is not for sale.’ Ronaldo was due to report back for pre-season training on Monday but has been given compassionate leave by United for the family-related issue.

The rest of the squad have been back at Carrington this week, but without their star forward

The player has so far missed four (correct) days of training but is said to be unhappy over suggestions he has refused to turn up, considering he had the club’s permission to stay in Lisbon with partner Georgina Rodriguez and his children.

However, Ronaldo’s continued absence is bound to fuel speculation over his future after he told United he wants to leave and his agent Jorge Mendes held talks with several clubs.

Chelsea and Napoli have expressed an interest but Ronaldo is understood to accept it will be difficult to find a Champions League club prepared to match his £500,000-a-week wages just a month before the new season starts, particularly given United’s stance.

New Chelsea owner Todd Boehly is keen on the prospect of signing Ronaldo this summer

They are unwilling to weaken their squad at a time when manager Erik ten Hag wants new players.

Despite signing Tyrell Malacia and reaching a verbal agreement with Christian Eriksen, United have yet to make a breakthrough in talks with Barcelona over their No 1 target Frenkie de Jong.

Reports in Spain suggested Chelsea could try to gazump United by offering Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso as part of a package for De Jong, but it’s understood that they are keen to complete the signings of Raheem Sterling and Raphinha first of all.

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Cristiano Ronaldo will NOT travel with Manchester United on their pre-season tour

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