Cristiano Ronaldo misses Man United's pre-season training; real reason revealed

Eyeing Champions League glory, Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly made an official request to leave Manchester United this summer.

Legendary striker Cristiano Ronaldo, who has reportedly requested to leave Old Trafford this summer in a bid to play the Champions League, will miss the first day of Manchester United's pre-season on Monday under the new manager Erik ten Hag.

Today was the deadline for players who competed in last month's international matches to return to Carrington; those who weren't participating had already done so last week. 

However, the Portuguese superstar has decided to stay away from his teammates and reportedly gave "family reasons" as his justification for his absence. The club has reportedly approved Ronaldo's decision.

The 37-year-old's absence comes two days after media reports surfaced that Ronaldo has asked to be allowed to leave United should the Premier League club receive a satisfactory offer in the transfer window.

The Portuguese superstar joined United again a year ago for a second term at Old Trafford, scoring 18 goals in 30 league games. Still, the squad ended sixth in the Premier League and missed the premier European club tournament for the upcoming season.

According to reports, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, and Juventus, among other clubs, are keen on adding Ronaldo to their squad. The former Real Madrid great reportedly feels he needs the motivation of competing in the Champions League in the final phase of his career, despite his expressed respect and affection for United and their supporters. 

However, United's stance has remained that the Portugal captain is not for sale and that they fully expect him to depart with the team on Friday for the club's pre-season tour of Asia and Australia. Monday's no-show at Carrington cast doubt upon that position, and it remains unclear when Ronaldo will report to training under new boss Erik ten Hag.