Cristiano Ronaldo enjoys Christmas in Lapland as Marcus Rashford sends message
Footballers are enjoying Christmas in different ways
Cristiano Ronaldo jetted off to Lapland as swapped the soaring heat of Saudi Arabia for plunging temperatures to enjoy a traditional Christmas with his family.
The Portuguese footballing great posted a shirtless picture of himself surrounded by snow on Instagram, captioning: "Merry Christmas, everyone!" He also shared a video of himself taking a dip in freezing conditions, to which former Manchester United teammate Rio Ferdinand replied: "Crazy!"
The 39-year-old is in Lapland with partner Georgina Rodriguez and their children. He shared a snap on Christmas Day morning of the couple and five children around the dinner table in matching pyjamas, reports The Mirror. He captioned: "The most important part of Christmas."
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Real Madrid's record goal scorer, Ronaldo is approaching his two-year anniversary with Saudi side Al-Nassr following an acrimonious exit from his second spell with United. The ex-Juventus man publicly fell out with boss Erik ten Hag, all but sealing his exit in a bombshell TV interview with Piers Morgan.
Other stars have also been enjoying their Christmas with families, including Marcus Rashford. The under-fire United forward shared a photo on Instagram with 18 friends and family around the dinner table. He simply captioned: "Family time. Happy Christmas everyone."
Rashford looks almost certain to leave United and could even seal his exit in the January transfer window. He has not been included in any of Ruben Amorim's last three matchday squads and revealed in a recent interview that he was ready to depart Old Trafford after falling woefully out of form.
"For me, personally, I think I'm ready for a new challenge and the next steps," said Rashford, who came through the ranks at United and has been with the club for almost 20 years. "When I leave it's going to be 'no hard feelings'. If I know that a situation is already bad I'm not going to make it worse.
"I've seen how other players have left in the past and I don't want to be that person. When I leave I'll make a statement and it will be from me."
Despite Rashford's exile, Amorim insists the door is not closed on his United career and hinted he didn't believe the interview in which he expressed his desire to leave was the England star's idea. "Of course it is a hard situation," said Amorim.
"But I understand that this kind of player, they have a lot of people around them making some choices that are sometimes not the first idea from the player. So I understand, I can separate things. I am always here for helping Marcus as another player. And they have to do what they have to do.
"I say they chose to do that interview, because it's not just Marcus, and I understand that. As a coach I am just focussed on the performance, the way he trains. And the rest, I think it is better for me and the club to deal with that when the time comes.
"At the moment I am just focussed on improving Marcus. We need a lot in this moment the talented guys like Marcus and I forget for now the interview. I just see what I see on the pitch."
Elsewhere, league leaders Liverpool shared a snap of their players on the training ground in their Santa hats. The Reds are four points clear of Chelsea with a game in hand at the summit of the Premier League and were all smiles as they went through their paces.
Arne Slot's side host strugglers Leicester on Boxing Day evening at Anfield, the Foxes now managed by former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy after sacking Steve Cooper. Van Nistelrooy had been on Ten Hag's staff at Old Trafford before he was relieved of his duties.
Footballers will generally train on Christmas Day ahead of their Boxing Day fixtures, sometimes facing long journeys if they are away from home. This means the big day is regularly spent largely away from their families.
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