Ronaldo absent from tour because of family reasons

MANCHESTER UNITED will go on tour to Bangkok today without Cristiano Ronaldo after giving the Portuguese superstar more time off for family reasons. The club still don’t know if Ronaldo will be able to join the four-game, 16-day trip to Thailand and Australia at a later date amid uncertainty over his future at Old Trafford. Ronaldo fears his hopes of quitting United are fading after the club doubled down yesterday on their assertion that he is not for sale. United will back up that stance by including images of the 37-year-old wearing their new kit when it is officially unveiled today. A club spokesperson confirmed: ‘Cristiano Ronaldo will not be part of the Manchester United party scheduled to depart for our pre-season tour. ‘He has been granted additional time off to deal with a family issue.’