Cristiano Ronaldo breaks silence for first time since shock Brighton defeat as Man Utd star goes to work in training

CRISTIANO RONALDO has taken to social media following his side’s nightmarish defeat on opening day.

Manchester United lost 2-1 to Brighton after a sad performance at Old Trafford.

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Ronaldo, 37, started on the bench as he desperately tried to leave after a summer in which he skipped the Red Devils’ pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia.

However, it was only 53 minutes before Erik ten Hag joined him as his side were 2-0 down against the Seagulls.

United managed to pull back a goal but Ronaldo failed to make the desired impact in his cameo.

The Portuguese has taken to social media to try and illustrate the effort he is putting in.

He posted a picture of himself sprinting in United practice.

The picture was captioned: “Hard work always pays off 🙏🏽💪🏽.”

Additional images showed Ronaldo beating his younger teammates in the sprint.

The former Real Madrid star enraged manager Ten Hag by leaving United’s friendly against Rayo Vallecano ten minutes early.

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Despite Anthony Martial’s injury, CR7 was still on the bench.

United missed striker Benjamin Sesko to RB Leipzig.

They have now been linked with former Chelsea ace Alvaro Morata.

The Atletico Madrid star played with Ronaldo at Juventus.

United are also chasing a new midfielder after giving up Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong.

The Red Devils have received a £15million bid for alternative target Adrien Rabiot, despite the Frenchman reportedly asking more than £160,000 a week to join.

United are next in action on Saturday when they travel to Brentford.