Cristiano Ronaldo must isolate for five days before he is allowed to train with Manchester United after the club saw an exemption request rejected by the UK Government.
Ronaldo completed a move back to Old Trafford after 12 years away from the club on Transfer Deadline Day, signing a two-year contract with the option of a third after United agreed a €15 million fee with Juventus for him.
After being announced as a United player on Tuesday, the 36-year-old featured for Portugal against the Republic of Ireland on Wednesday in Faro, Portugal in a Fifa World Cup qualifier.
In his first 90 minutes since Euro 2020, Ronaldo missed a penalty and then scored two late headers to earn all three points for Portugal and become the all-time top goalscorer in men's international football in the process.
His brace took him to 111 goals, two more than Ali Daei of Iran, but he celebrated his 96th minute winner by removing his shirt, which saw him booked by the referee.
That means he is banned for Portugal's next qualifier against Azerbaijan on Tuesday and with only a friendly against Qatar between the games, manager Fernando Santos agreed to release him from international duty early so he could travel to England.
However, after United saw their request for an elite sportsman exemption rejected by the government Ronaldo will have to isolate like any other person flying from Portugal to the UK.
The former Real Madrid forward will have to test negative for COVID-19 on the second and fifth day of his return in order to be released from isolation and then be allowed to train with his new teammates.
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Ronaldo is expected to arrive in Manchester on Friday, meaning he won't be able to join training with United until Wednesday at the earliest — just three days before their next Premier League clash against Newcastle United at Old Trafford.
It's believed that he will make his debut in that game, but had he not been released from international duty early then he would have been unavailable for the game due to the isolation restrictions.
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