Jesse Lingard, Manchester United | Former United star is criticized in South Korea: – Must take a clearer leadership role

Lingard, who has 232 appearances for Manchester United, signed for Seoul in February after a period without a club.

He has yet to start a game there, and after a weak start in his third game for the club, coach Kim Gi-dong went hard in the media.

– If someone who only plays a few minutes, doesn’t give everything and runs less than someone who has been playing since the start of the game, I don’t see them as a proper footballer, Kim said in the direction of Lingard.

– Always works hard

Later, the coach moderated somewhat, but made it clear that the 31-year-old “must take on a clearer leadership role”.

Lingard had to respond to Kim’s outburst.

– I always work hard. I checked my stats after the game and I did pretty well for how many minutes I played. It’s just something he (Kim) said. The media will obviously interpret it as more dramatic than it actually is, said Lingard.

Lingard started his career at Manchester United before later playing for Derby, West Ham and Nottingham Forest, where his contract expired last summer.

Surprised

Afterwards, he spent plenty of time taking the next step in his career and surprised many by choosing Seoul.

– I had several offers, but none were in writing. “I chose Seoul because they showed they wanted me,” said Lingard.

The 31-year-old told last year that he struggled with alcohol abuse during his time at Manchester United to “numb the pain”.

Lingard is on the books with 32 international matches for England, and in the 2018 World Cup he scored one of his total of six goals with the flag on his chest. In 2021, he was close to being selected for the EC, but the eye of the needle was too narrow in competition with several other good offensive players.

(© NTB)