Cristiano Ronaldo has left his new Juventus teammates behind after embarking on a personal tour of the Far East, while the Italian club prepare for a pre-season trip to the US.
It means that the Portuguese superstar is unlikely to face an awkward reunion with his former club, Real Madrid, who are due to play Juventus in Washington on 4 August.
And it now looks as though the 33-year-old will not be seen in the famous black and white stripes of Juventus until the start of the Italian league season.
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Before jetting off to China, Ronaldo posted a photo of himself and his entourage in front of a Nike-branded plane.
“The football legend has made a frequent event of his ‘CR7 Tour’ in recent years, whereby he heads off to Asia to meet his global fans and further expand his colossal brand,” says the Daily Mail.
“The 33-year-old is set to be in for a hectic summer with sponsorship commitments before finally getting down to some pre-season training with his new club.
“It is unknown how long the player and his party will be spending in China, though Ronaldo is likely to visit several locations for public visits and Nike-organised events.”
Ronaldo was unveiled as a Juventus signing on Monday after his £99m move from Spanish giants Real Madrid, where he spent nine years and won the Champions League four times in the past five seasons.
At his press conference he insisted that he is still hungry for success and declared: “I’m different from other players who think their careers are over when they're my age… Players of my age go to China or Qatar.”
Now he has done just that.
