Brazilian football legend Pele interacted with the return of Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo to participate with Manchester United against Rayo Vallecano after the Don made his first appearance before the start of the season with Manchester United in the team's last friendly match. Cristiano Ronaldo made his first preseason appearance for Manchester United in their final friendly encounter against Spanish side Rayo Vallecano. The 37-year-old shared an Instagram post after the match, with the caption:"Happy to be back!" As usual, Ronaldo's post garnered a lot of attention, with Brazil legend Pele among those who reacted. He sent in a comment with three clapping emojis as if to congratulate the Portuguese superstar on his return. Ronaldo played the first 45 minutes of the match, where he failed to get on the scoresheet. He got only one chance during his stay on the pitch but ended up skying an effort from Donny van de Beek's pass. He continued to make news after the game as reports emerged of him leaving the stadium while the match was still being played at Old Trafford. The Portuguese captain reportedly left the stadium with Diogo Dalot around the 80-minute mark of the match which ended 1-1. Whether or not this exit was sanctioned by new manager Erik ten Hag remains unknown to the media and the fans. He registered 24 goals in 38 games across all competitions for the Red Devils but the team fell flat on the collective front. They were knocked out early in all cup competitions and finished sixth in the Premier League, missing out on UEFA Champions League football for the 2022-23 season.

Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo commented on returning to participate with Manchester United after his appearance in the friendly match against Rayo Vallecano, the first match in which the Portuguese participated in the preparations of the Red Devils for the new season. Ronaldo was “happy to be back” playing for Manchester United after he appeared for 45 minutes in the 1-1 draw against Spanish team Rayo Vallecano in a friendly match at Old Trafford on Sunday. Ronaldo missed United’s pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia due to family reasons amid reports he wants to quit the club, but he reported to the training ground earlier this week to discuss his future with new boss Erik ten Hag. He later posted on social media a picture of him playing in the game with the caption: “Happy to be back.” Manchester United will begin their 2022-23 Premier League season against Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford on August 7.

The Italian Napoli team fell into the trap of a draw with its Spanish counterpart, Real Mallorca, 1-1, in the friendly match that brought them together on Sunday evening, as part of the two teams' preparations for the new season 2022-2023. Napoli faced a tough test in their pre-season friendly against RCD Mallorca tonight, picking up a 1-1 draw. Barley nine minutes into the game, Napoli was awarded a penalty following a Mallorca handball in the box and up stepped Osimhen to open the scoring for Luciano Spalletti’s men. In the second half, Napoli then made multiple substitutions with the likes of Rahmani, Kim, Fabian, and Zielinski coming off for Ostigard, Jesus, Anguissa, Elmas, and Politano. However, Mallorca equalized the game thanks to a header by Raillo in the minute 55 of the match.  Napoli has two more pre-season friendlies remaining now – against Girona on August 3 and Espanyol on August 6. The Serie A season starts on August 15, as Hellas Verona is going head to head with Napoli starting on 15 Aug 2022. Napoli lineup

Liverpool suffered a 3-0 defeat to French outfit Strasbourg at Anfield on Sunday, just a day after their Community Shield triumph against Manchester United. Jurgen Klopp's men set out for another clash in preparation for the Premier League season. Adrien Thomasson and Habib Diallo netted for the visitors to make it 2-0 within 14 minutes. Most of the key Liverpool stars were absent, led by Egyptian star Mohamed Salah, Dutchman Virgil van Dijk, Darwin Nunez, and others. Liverpool's line-up in the match was as follows:  Goalkeeper: Davies  Defenders: Mabaya, Konate, Gomez, Chambers.

Real Madrid has reportedly added six names to their shortlist for a backup striker in the 2022-23 season. Carlo Ancelotti's side will once again head into the new campaign with Karim Benzema leading the line after failing to prise Kylian Mbappe away from Paris Saint-Germain. However, the La Liga and Champions League holders are set to be in the market for a new center-forward who can provide backup and competition to the 34-year-old. Borja Mayoral and Mariano Diaz are both expected to leave the club in the coming weeks, and the likes of Benjamin Sesko, Timo Werner, and Armando Borja are being linked with moves to the Bernabeu. Now, Defense Central claims that Los Blancos are considering as many as six other strikers for the role of Benzema's deputy in 2022-23, including two other Salzburg youngsters. Switzerland international Noah Okafor - who only has two years left to run on his contract with the Austrian champions - has supposedly been mentioned as a potential target. The 22-year-old amassed nine goals and nine assists from 21 top-flight games last season and will shoulder more of the attacking burden this term following Karim Adeyemi's exit for Borussia Dortmund. Real is also said to be keeping tabs on the development of Okafor's teammate Roko Simic, who is eight years his junior at just 18 and is seeking to make the step up to top-tier senior football. The report adds that Brian Bruby is also on the list, but the 20-year-old has just completed a permanent transfer to Ajax from Leipzig. As many as three Bundesliga strikers have also been shortlisted, including Stuttgart's Sasa Kalajdzic, who is also said to be on the radar of Manchester United. Jonathan Burkardt of Mainz 05 is also thought to be admired by those at the Bernabeu.

Barcelona, led by coach Xavi Hernandez, completed the preparatory round in the United States of America in preparation for the start of the new football season in Spain. Barcelona defeated the New York Red Bulls 2-0 in their friendly match that brought the two teams together on Sunday at the end of the Barca preseason tour. The Catalan played 4 matches in the America tour, winning 3 matches, drawing one, and not receiving any defeat.

Italian press reports revealed that U.S. Soccer midfielder Weston McKennie is threatened with a month-long absence, due to a shoulder injury. McKinney was absent from participating with Juventus against Real Madrid, in the friendly meeting that brought them together, early Sunday in the United States of America. The newspaper "La Gazzetta Dello Sport", said that McKinney suffers from a dislocated shoulder, and will be absent from the ranks of Juve for up to a month, which is a new painful blow, after the French Paul Pogba. McKennie, 22, originally joined Serie A giants Juve on a loan deal in September 2020 from Schalke 04, before the transfer became permanent six months later, worth 20 million euros, and during two seasons with the team, he made 44 appearances and scored five goals.

Spanish press reports revealed that the English Chelsea FC informed its counterpart Barcelona that it will make an offer soon in order to obtain the services of the Netherlands international midfielder, Frenkie de Jong, during the current summer transfer market. The Spain sports newspaper “Sport”, indicated that Chelsea is seeking to sign de Jong during the current summer Mercato, especially after the player refused to join Manchester United, due to the club’s seasons without participation in the European  Champions League since 1980. The newspaper added that the Dutch player prefers to play for the Blues and that he will accept the offer the moment he arrives at the Catalan club, which prefers to sell the player during the current summer in order to reduce the value of the players’ salaries in the team. Xavi was asked about the speculation surrounding De Jong following the match and said: ‘I don’t know if he’s going to stay, there’s still time and a lot of things can still happen. At the moment he’s part of the team, like everyone else.’ “I have not sent any signal to Frenkie de Jong. Let’s see what happens, there’s a lot of time left until August 31″, he said.

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti was satisfied after Real Madrid's victory over Juventus. Real Madrid coach claimed to have drawn positive conclusions from this period in the United States and left the line-up for the European Super Cup up in the air.“We've finished this first stage of the season well with a good performance, showing improvement on the previous game. The team is used to playing with the guys who have played in the past. We're focused on the European Super Cup. We've trained well and we've got minutes in the players' legs, it's all gone really well". “It's been very positive because we haven't picked up any injuries, aside from a small sprain for Carvajal. The team has worked really well and we've had no issues. It's been a well-executed pre-season and now we have the confidence to go and win the European Super Cup". He praised the midfield trio, Modric, Kroos, and Casemiro, saying: "I call Casemiro, Kroos, and Modric the Bermuda Triangle because the ball disappears there.” About his opinion of the Mercato that Barcelona has done, the Italian said: “Barcelona did a great job in the Mercato, but I am currently focusing only on my team.”