The Portuguese star once again failed to show up for Man United's training session on Monday.

Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was absent when the club's international players had their first meeting with new manager Erik Ten Hag on Monday. The absence of the 37-year-old forward is reportedly down to "personal reason" despite telling the club he wants to leave this summer.

After spending just a season at the club, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner is rumored to be nearing an exit. In retrospect, the second coming of the former Real Madrid and Juventus attacker took a wrong turn, with his input proving to be insufficient as United failed to secure Champions League football for next season. The reality that he will not feature in Europe's elite league, coupled with the Red Devils' lack of ambition in the transfer market, is seemingly making him reconsider his future.

In a rather bizarre turn of events, Chelsea are reportedly interested in signing Ronaldo, and his agent, Jorge Mendes, has already met with the North London club's owner Todd Boehly. While Manchester United are adamant to sell the player, the Blues are rumored to be pushing hard for the move to happen. On Monday, it also emerged that Barcelona president Joan Laporta had met with the player's representatives to discuss what could be a shock transfer for the La Liga club. According to Spanish publication AS, the pair met on Monday evening for dinner.

Meanwhile, the absence of Ronaldo from the training session held has not raised any cause for concern as he was given permission to stay in Portugal due to family reasons. The player was pictured at the training facility of the Portuguese national team on Monday morning. It still remains to be seen if he will return to the UK anytime soon with United due to leave for their pre-season tour of Asia and Australia on Friday.