Cristiano Ronaldo send strong Instagram message to Manchester United fans after starting from bench against Leicester

Cristiano Ronaldo thanked Manchester United fans for their support after Erik ten Hag’s side secured their third consecutive Premier League win by beating Leicester City on Thursday night.

The visitors took the lead in the 23rd minute through Jadon Sancho, who calmly rounded Foxes goalkeeper Danny Ward before placing the ball into the empty net.

It was the first time since December that United have won three games in a row, and the win over Brendan Rodgers’ side sees the club climb back up to fifth in the table after five games.

Ten Hag opted for an attacking trio of Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Elanga, while Ronaldo once again had to settle for a place on the substitutes’ bench after refusing to leave Old Trafford in the summer transfer window.

The Portugal international came close to scoring his first goal of the campaign with an audacious header, but his shot went wide.

After the game, Ronaldo posted a photo of himself on his Instagram account after the final whistle, along with the caption: ‘Thank you for your support’.

The 37-year-old also celebrated United’s win over Leicester with another Instagram post, posting a photo of himself alongside Casemiro. Ronaldo wrote: “Great win!

Casemiro, who also posted a message celebrating United’s win, responded to Ronaldo’s photo by posting two fist emojis in response to his former Real Madrid teammate.

Although Ronaldo is keen to leave United this summer, Ten Hag has dismissed the suggestion that the striker could have a “secondary role” at United this season.

“We’ve said it before,” Ten Hag said of Ronaldo’s stay. “It’s very early in the season and we have a squad. We have more than 11 starting players, that’s what you see now, the players who are on the bench now can play in one, two or three weeks.”