Cristiano Ronaldo is back in Manchester

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Back, but maybe gone soon: Cristiano Ronaldo, yesterday in a friendly against Vallecano

Photo: Dave Thompson / dpa

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Ronaldo leaves the stadium before the final whistle

The five-time world footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, who is willing to change, has played his first game for England's record champions Manchester United in twelve weeks.

On Sunday he played 45 minutes in the 1-1 (0-0) pre-season game against Rayo Vallecano.

"I'm happy to be back," the 37-year-old tweeted after the game, after leaving Old Trafford early.

After the first half, the Portuguese made way for Amad Diallo, who gave United the lead early in the second half (48').

Pictures on social networks showed Ronaldo leaving the stadium during the game.

A gesture that further fuels speculation about a departure.

The star striker had missed the preparatory tour to Thailand and Australia, officially for personal reasons.

He was also not in coach Erik ten Hag's squad for the friendly against Atletico Madrid (0-1) on Saturday in Oslo.

Ronaldo has been flirting with a change for weeks and has long since asked United for approval.

So far, however, the offers from top clubs have been limited.

The Portuguese was also repeatedly associated with FC Bayern, but the club denied any interest.

Chelsea on Werner replacement

According to a report by The Athletic, English giants Chelsea FC are working on signing attacking player Denzel Dumfries, 25, from Inter Milan.

The fast winger only moved to Italy from PSV Eindhoven last season and became a regular at Inter.

Still, the 45-time Netherlands international could be sold as Inter need to generate revenue urgently, according to the report.

Striker Romelu Lukaku had already switched to Inter Milan on loan from Thomas Tuchel's FC Chelsea this summer.

Dumfries could be used in a similar way to German international Timo Werner, who has not ruled out leaving London after a disappointing season and was recently linked to his former club RB Leipzig.

Bernd Leno just before the change

According to »The Athletic« and Sky, former national goalkeeper Bernd Leno is about to transfer from Arsenal to Fulham.

The two clubs have agreed on a deal worth around 9.5 million euros, it is said.

The 30-year-old has played for Arsenal since 2018.

Last season, however, the former Leverkusen player was sidelined and was only a substitute goalkeeper.

Mané's friend strengthens Bayern's reserve

FC Bayern has probably also signed one of his best friends after Sadio Mané.

Desire Segbe Azankpo posted a picture on Instagram showing him signing the contract.

The attacker won 15 caps for Benin but has yet to break into professional football.

According to »Bild«, he always drove Mané to Bayern training in the past few weeks.

The 29-year-old is scheduled for the reserve at the German record champions.

The plays under coach Martín Demichelis in the Regionalliga Bayern.

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Ex-Schalke Avdijaj goes to Zurich

Donis Avdijaj is moving from Austrian club TSV Hartberg to Swiss soccer champions FC Zurich with immediate effect.

The ex-Schalke player will receive a three-year contract there that runs until June 30, 2025. »Donis has great footballing skills.

He can be used variably on offense and also has qualities in the end,” said FCZ sports director Marinko Jurendic.

The coach in Zurich has been former Austrian team manager Franco Foda since the start of the season.

Avdijaj was once considered a great talent, but did not make the leap to the professionals at Schalke.

At TSV Hartenberg he caused a stir last week when he scored two goals against SCR Altach, coached by Miroslav Klose, on the first day of the new season.

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