Erik ten Hag tells Cristiano Ronaldo how to get back into Manchester United team

Erik ten Hag has told Cristiano Ronaldo he has to contribute more on and off the ball than last season after changing the way Manchester United play.

Ronaldo has been a substitute for United's last three games, coming off the bench in the wins against Liverpool, Southampton and Leicester.

The transfer window has closed with the 37-year-old unable to force his way out of Old Trafford and after a disappointing cameo at St Mary's last weekend, he looked brighter in his 22 minutes at the King Power Stadium on Thursday.

READ MORE: The moment that summed up mentality change under Ten Hag

Ronaldo has started just one of United's first five Premier League games, the disastrous 4-0 defeat at Brentford, and his absence from the starting XI for the last three games is even more surprising given Anthony Martial hasn't been fit enough to start any of them.

The Portuguese forward missed a sizeable chunk of United's pre-season, missing the entire tour of Thailand and Australia for personal reasons and playing just 45 minutes of the final friendly against Rayo Vallecano.

His pre-season campaign was dominated by talk of an exit, with Ronaldo making it clear he wanted to leave for a Champions League club.

But no offers were forthcoming and Ronaldo now has to accept he will be at United until January. He will hope to earn a recall for Sunday's intriguing Premier League clash with Arsenal at Old Trafford.

Ten Hag will use the carrot and the stick to try and get the best out of a forward who scored 24 goals last season, but he's also told Ronaldo he has to offer more than he did last season under a new regime.

"I will be his friend. Sometimes I will be his teacher. It depends on the situation," said Ten Hag. "As we all know, he