Eight utterly bizarre man of the match awards - from big bag of spuds to a live chicken

Manchester United supporters are feeling optimistic ahead of the new season with new boss Erik ten Hag at the helm.

Cristiano Ronaldo has been spotted doing promos ahead of the new season in his Manchester United kit with a message for the fans. There has been heavy speculation over the Portugal international's future this summer after he told the club he wanted to leave. The 37-year-old believes he only has so much time left at the top and does not want to spend it fighting in the Europa League.

Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly set to start the season sitting on the bench after his antics this summer. The 37-year-old has been desperate to leave Manchester United in the current transfer window after a disappointing campaign last year.

Jamie Vardy is reportedly on the radar of Manchester United and Chelsea as they both hunt for a striker in the transfer market. Vardy, 35, has just one year remaining on his Leicester City contract, with talks between the parties yet to materialise.

Manchester United stars receive more online abuse than players from any other Premier League side.Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire are statistically the most abused players in the country, with Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes not far behind, according to a report by Ofcom and the Alan Turing Institute, which looked into social media activity during the first five months of the 2021/22 season.Tottenham's Harry Kane and Manchester City's Jack Grealish are the only two non-United stars to make the top 10 - with David De Gea, Paul Pogba, Fred and Jesse Lingard completing the list.READ MORE: Man Utd captain Harry Maguire loudly booed every time he touches ball in pre-season friendlyBetween August 13, 2021 and January 24, 2022, a whopping 12,520 abusive tweets were aimed at Ronaldo, while 8,954 were directed at Maguire - who was roundly booed every time he touched the ball during a pre-season friendly in Australia last month.Rashford, Fernandes and Kane, meanwhile, all received over 2,000 abusive messages online over the same period.Kevin Bakhurst, Ofcom's group director for broadcasting and online content, said: "These findings shed light on a dark side to the beautiful game. Online abuse has no place in sport, nor in wider society, and tackling it requires a team effort.Should more be done to stop footballers getting abused online? Let us know what you think in the comments section below."Social media firms needn't wait for new laws to make their sites and apps safer for users.

Manchester United fans are in agreement that Erik ten Hag must sell forgotten star Tahith Chong after he failed to impress against Rayo Vallecano. 22-year-old Chong has been part of United's first team since 2019, but he's struggled to establish himself.

Erik ten Hag is searching for a new right-back this summer, and Denzel Dumfries is one names to have been frequently linked with a Manchester United move.

Manchester United's wantaway star Cristiano Ronaldo was spotted in a tense chat with new boss Erik ten Hag after making his return at Old Trafford.Ronaldo finally linked with the Red Devils as they made their final preparations for the new Premier League season. United lined up against Spanish side Rayo Vallecano for a friendly at the Theatre of Dreams on Sunday.However, it wasn't a dream homecoming for Ronaldo, who was hooked at the halfway point of the clash.

Manchester United will not sanction Cristiano Ronaldo for leaving Old Trafford before the end of their pre-season friendly with Rayo Vallecano.Ronaldo made his long awaited return to action in the 1-1 draw, having missed pre season training and the club's summer tour due to personal reasons. But after being hauled off at half time, the Portuguese superstar left the stadium before the final whistle.The move did nothing to dispel the notion that Ronaldo has changed his mind about quitting United to find a new club that can offer him Champions League football and a better chance of winning trophies.READ MORE: Ex-Man Utd ace Lee Sharpe warns flops that Erik ten Hag will take no prisonersBut United are said to have no problems with Ronaldo leaving the stadium instead of rejoining his team-mates to watch the remainder of the match.It's understood new boss Erik Ten Hag substituted Ronaldo when he did due to the striker's lack of action in recent weeks - and United insist the 37-year-old wasn't the only player to head home ahead of schedule.United remain adamant Ronaldo is not for sale and are determined to stop him from leaving.

Cristiano Ronaldo came off at half-time on his Manchester United return and did not stick around to see the final result, leaving the stadium before full-time.And his replacement, Amad, grabbed the only goal for the Red Devils in a 1-1 draw against Spanish side Rayo Vallecano in their final friendly before the Premier League season begins. The Red Devils showed glimpses of class as Erik ten Hag tries to install his methods but the same old errors remain.But while the new United boss is desperate to drill in his philosophy, Ronaldo's transfer requests have handed him an unwanted distraction from his work.

Cristiano Ronaldo had egg on his face after wasting a series a golden chances during his long-awaited return to the Manchester United setup against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday. The Portugal international was making his first appearance in a United shirt under new manager Erik ten Hag having spent the summer trying to force a move away after handing in a transfer request.He met with Ten Hag earlier in the week to discuss his future and despite reiterating a desire to leave the club, Ronaldo declared on Instagram that "the king" was going to be back in action for United's final pre-season game.READ MORE: Man Utd urged to keep Sir Alex Ferguson out of Cristiano Ronaldo transfer sagaFans were quickly on his case though after the 37-year-old spurned a number of chances in the opening few minutes, including one he blazed over from a just few yards out, which he had to laugh off."The king is back indeed," one supporter tweeted sarcastically.Another posted: "Genuinely awful.

Sir Alex Ferguson has been urged to stay away from Manchester United's current transfer saga with Cristiano Ronaldo by Stan Collymore. Ronaldo is looking to force his way out of the Red Devils just a year after rejoining United. Showdown talks with Erik ten Hag didn't go to plan - and United even drafted in Sir Alex to try and convince Ronaldo to stay put.But now Sir Alex - who was Ronaldo's first boss at United - has been warned to stay away from the saga altogether.

Returning superstar Cristiano Ronaldo will need to play catch-up on his Manchester United teammates in order to reach peak fitness for the upcoming Premier League campaign.

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has reportedly been given a date for a hearing where he can try to clear himself over a holiday brawl.The appeal is set for June 7 next year and is expected to be held on the Greek Island of Syros, near Mykonos, according to a report from The Sun. It comes following the England defender’s involvement in a bust-up with Mykonos police back in August 2020.Maguire, 29, and his brother Joe, 30, were both found guilty of assaulting an officer as well as attempted bribery.

These are your morning Manchester United headlines on Sunday, July 31.

Cristiano Ronaldo has hit back at suggestions he’s not fully committed to the cause by posting a picture of himself training with some of the Manchester United youngsters The superstar has been pictured training with United for the first time since reports emerged suggesting that he wishes to depart to a club in the Champions League. On Saturday, Ronaldo took to Twitter to post an image of himself at Carrington.The 37-year-old, currently in his second stint at United, is seen posing next to some of the new United generation set to break through, such as Amad Diallo, Charlie Savage and Hannibal Mejbri.

Manchester United supporters believe that Cristiano Ronaldo will stay at the club and enjoy the inch-perfect passes of Christian Eriksen next campaign.United faced off against Atletico Madrid on Saturday in a pre-season friendly and one of the standout performers was the former Tottenham attacker who showed everyone what he is capable of with some fine crossing throughout the match at Old Trafford. And some viewers thought that the chemistry between Eriksen and Ronaldo could be deadly going into the new season.

Manchester United have appointed former West Ham flop Benni McCarthy as a strikers coach for the new season.McCarthy is best remembered for his time in England for his spell at Blackburn Rovers - where he earned the unenviable tag of a one-season wonder. The South African failed to reignite that form, and he struggled after moving to Upton Park.However, McCarthy once knocked the Red Devils out of the Champions League as Jose Mourinho's young Porto side went on to conquer Europe.

Manchester United supporters have lashed out at Fred following their defeat against Atletico Madrid in their penultimate pre-season friendly - in which he saw red.The Brazil international midfielder was adjudged to have stamped on former Chelsea forward Alvaro Morata by referee Espen Eskas after hacking him down to the ground in additional time.Although frustration looked to have got the better of the 29-year-old after Joao Felix had netted the only goal of the game, Fred's foot landing on the striker looked to be clumsy rather than intentional. READ MORE: Cristiano Ronaldo told he is 'holding Man Utd to ransom' and 'bullying' Erik ten Hag However, not all supporters have had sympathy for the former Shakhtar Donetsk man, with many even saying that he should no longer play a key part in their playing squad.One fan wrote: "One thing for certain Fred is going to do something stupid to hurt the team. We won't win anything."With a second adding: "Going into the season and McTominay & Fred is still the midfield.

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has laid down the gauntlet ahead of their clash with Manchester City on Saturday evening. The Community Shield remains the one trophy that's have eluded Jurgen Klopp during his time on Merseyside.

Cristiano Ronaldo has been slammed for “bullying” Manchester United into leaving the club this summer.The Red Devils ace handed in a transfer request last month but has been unable to secure a move away from Old Trafford. With the new Premier League season set to get underway next weekend, the Portuguese superstar’s future is still very much up in the air.United reportedly failed to convince Ronaldo to withdraw his transfer request this week, with The Times claiming crunch showdown talks with the club and agent Jorge Mendes failed to convince the 37-year-old to stay.