Cristiano Ronaldo has thanked the Manchester United fans for their support after Erik ten Hag's side recorded their third successive win with a 1-0 success at Leicester City.
Jadon Sancho scored the only goal of the game midway through the first-half as United ran out narrow winners at the King Power Stadium. After a disastrous start to the season, United have now won their last three matches against Liverpool, Southampton and Leicester, moving themselves up to fifth in the meantime.
It has been a terrific turnaround for the Red Devils, who were heavily criticised at the start of the season for performances in defeats to Brentford and Brighton. Ten Hag has already had to deal with a lot during his short time at the club, including Ronaldo's situation as the forward expressed his desire to leave Old Trafford in July.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner wanted to leave the Red Devils before the end of the transfer window and as he hoped to continue playing in the Champions League. However, with the window now closed, Ronaldo will be staying at the club and competing in the Europa League this season after United finished sixth in the Premier League.
Ronaldo has since been in and out of the United XI, but hasn't started a game since the 4-0 thrashing by Brentford. Ten Hag has opted to play Marcus Rashford as the lone striker with Jadon Sancho and Anthony Elanga out wide. He has come off the bench in each of their last three matches, including the win over Leicester on Thursday night.
After the game, Ronaldo posted on Instagram a message of support for the 3,000+ travelling contingent that made their way to the East Midlands. He said: "Thank you for your support".
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Despite trying to force a move away from the Red Devils, Ten Hag still insists that the former Real Madrid and Juventus talisman remains part of his plans, though, and confirmed that Ronaldo has accepted his predicament after further talks regarding his immediate future. "[We have spoken] several times, yeah. We are on one page," the Dutch tactician told a pre-match news conference. "Otherwise he [wouldn't be] here."
Ten Hag added when asked if the goalscorer supreme could adapt into his system: "The way of play sets the demands. You can see in training it's clear that he has the capabilities. So he will fit in because he's – I don't have to explain – a great player. He has great capabilities, so he will fit in every system or in every style."
