Wantaway star Cristiano Ronaldo has declared himself ready for Manchester United\u2019s opener against Brighton on Sunday, forcing Erik ten Hag to make a major decision on whether to play the Portuguese star.<\/p>\n
38-year-old Ronaldo has spent all of summer trying to engineer a move away from Old Trafford while missing United’s entire pre-season tour of Asia\u00a0and Australia due to ‘family reasons.’<\/p>\n
The Portugal center forward has played just 45 minutes of pre-season for the club in their friendly again Rayo Vallecano, putting him clearly at a disadvantage behind the rest of the United squad in terms of fitness levels ahead of the new campaign.\u00a0Which saw new manager Erik ten Hag removing Ronaldo at half time last weekend, to protect him in his first runout under his reign.<\/p>\n
However, the incorrigible United star has defiantly posted a picture of himself from that game, with the word ‘ready’ written down the side, in what could be construed as a bold attempt to force the hand of the Dutchman. He even adding the praying emoji and the bicep flexing emoji to drive home his message.<\/p>\n
The Instagram posting looks to be a direct challenge to Ten Hag that Ronaldo eagerly wants to play, and is piling the pressure on the new United boss to play him for the Seagulls\u2019 visit.<\/p>\n
Add to this injury to Anthony Martial \u2013 who has been in red hot form during pre-season but\u00a0suffered a hamstring tear \u2013 and the situation is made more complicated for the manager. Martial\u2019s injury leaves United short on options in attack which could leave Ten Hag with no alternatives but to turn to Ronaldo, or face the possible drama that would occur if he were to leave the striker on the bench.<\/p>\n
Ronaldo has apparently been working with the club’s\u00a0conditioning staff in an attempt to recover his fitness, but it would still pose a risk to play someone who’s had so little game time over the summer.<\/p>\n
The Red Devils go into Sunday’s game hoping to avenge the humiliating 4-0 defeat they suffered at the hands of Brighton in the penultimate game of last season.<\/p>\n
Ronaldo was a starter in that game, but it remains unclear if Erik ten Hag will bow down to his social media post and include him in his team selection this time around.<\/p>\n
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