Ronaldo breaks silence after fresh transfer blow as he trains away from Man Utd

Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has ended his social media hiatus to show fans he is still working as hard as ever to get in shape for the upcoming season.

The Portugal forward, 37, has been training alone after he was left out of the Red Devils squad which travelled to Thailand for the club's pre-season tour. The reason cited for his omission was 'family reasons' and he may yet join his teammates for the next leg in Australia, although this is viewed as increasingly unlikely.

Ronaldo not travelling to the Far East came a matter of days after he dropped a transfer bombshell by asking to leave Old Trafford. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner was frustrated by United's lack of business in the summer transfer window and their failure to qualify for the Champions League last season.

However, Ronaldo has not been slacking as he trains away from the rest of the squad. The former Real Madrid and Juventus talisman posted his first update on Instagram or Twitter in 12 days to share a picture of him pumping iron in the gym, with the caption: "HARD WORK."

The Sporting Lisbon academy graduate looked typically ripped in the picture as he performed a close-grip lat pulldown exercise. Ronaldo's latest social media activity comes shortly after he suffered another blow in his efforts to leave United and build on his record-breaking Champions League legacy next season.

Chelsea had been weighing up a bid for his services as owner Todd Boelhy targets another statement signing - following the arrival of Raheem Sterling from Manchester City - but the American tycoon decided not to pursue Ronaldo this summer.

Where will Cristiano Ronaldo play his football this season? Have your say in the comments...

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The Blues are far from the only club to turn down the chance to sign Ronaldo this summer; Bayern Munich decided against a move for the striker - who scored 24 goals in all competitions last season - and Paris Saint-Germain have reached the same conclusion.

Destinations are running out for the global icon and one of his last remaining options is said to be a move to Saudi Arabia which would allow him to earn an eye-watering £211million. Regardless of Ronaldo's own desire to leave, Erik ten Hag insists he will not part ways with the player.

"He is not with is and that is due to personal issues," the new United manager said earlier this week. "But we are planning with Cristiano for this season, so that's it and I am looking forward to working with him. I spoke with him before this issue came up. I had a really good conversation with him, but that will stay between me and him. But Cristiano is not for sale."