Cristiano Ronaldo has been named in the starting side for Manchester United's pre-season friendly with Rayo Vallecano at Old Trafford.

The Portugal international continues to be strongly linked with a move away from the 20-time English champions, while he was not part of the squad that travelled to Norway for Saturday's clash with Atletico Madrid.

Ronaldo has been included in the XI for Sunday's game with Rayo Vallecano, though, as the Red Devils round off their preparations for the 2022-23 campaign.

The match will mark the 37-year-old's first outing of the summer, as he missed the club's pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia for personal reasons.

Ronaldo will seemingly lead the line with support from Tahith Chong and Alejandro Garnacho, while James Garner is included in the middle of the park.

There will also be a debut for Lisandro Martinez at the heart of the defence, with the Argentina international playing alongside Raphael Varane, who has had his fitness issues this summer.

Ethan Laird will play at right-back, while Alex Telles will feature at left-back, with Tyrell Malacia taking to the field against Atletico on Saturday.

Luke Shaw misses out altogether through illness, while Jadon Sancho is also unwell, with the England international also missing out against Atletico.

Christian Eriksen made his Man United debut as a second-half substitute against Atletico on Saturday, but he is named in the starting XI for this contest.

Donny van de Beek also featured off the bench against Diego Simeone's side, with the Netherlands international set to play alongside Eriksen and Garner in midfield.

Tom Heaton will play between the sticks, while there are spots on the bench for the likes of Eric Bailly, Hannibal Mejbri, Charlie Savage, Zidane Iqbal and Amad Diallo.

Head coach Erik ten Hag has not specified how long Ronaldo will play, but it is unlikely to be the full 90 minutes, as the fixture will represent his first outing of pre-season.

The forward is still said to be pushing to leave Old Trafford, as he is desperate to continue playing in the Champions League next season.

However, the main contenders for his signature - Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain - have ruled themselves out of the running for the experienced striker.

MANCHESTER UNITED XI: Heaton; Laird, Varane, Martinez, Telles; Van de Beek, Eriksen, Garner; Chong, Ronaldo, Garnacho body check tags ::