Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphael Varane, Edinson Cavani, and Luke Shaw were not among the 21 players present at the Lowry Hotel, where Manchester United sat ahead of their Premier League match against Manchester City.
As reported by many foreign media outlets, including the venerable La Gazzetta Dello Sport, this could mean that the Portuguese star will miss the Manchester derby against Pep Guardiola’s side.
According to the British newspaper Manchester Evening News, the Red Devils may not be with Ronaldo.
With the exception of Ronaldo, Cavani, Varane, and Shaw are absent. None of the four have any physical problems: the Uruguayan comes out from behind the groin, but coach Ralf Rangnick saw him ready for the Etihad Stadium match, scheduled for 5.30 pm local time.
Internal tensions
It will be clear that the absence of Ronaldo and the other stars means they will not be part of the derby or have already received permission to stay at the hotel.
The relationship between Rangnick and Ronaldo has not been good, and in recent weeks there have been several rumors of a rift in the United States.
United are currently fourth in the league and City are far behind (19 points behind 27 games). The goal for this season – with the exception of the Champions League (where the second leg of the Last 16 will still be played after a good result in the first leg at Wanda Metropolitano) is to finish in the top four.
