Jesse Lingard: I feel like I deserved a send-off at Manchester United

Jesse Lingard will return to Old Trafford on Tuesday night after his free departure to Nottingham Forest last summer. His exit was inevitable, yet it still felt like a tension-filled way for a long-serving player to leave the club, and he believed he deserved a more affectionate send-off. 

After 22 years of service, in the summer of 2022, Jesse Lingard departed from Manchester United. The 30-year-old, who grew up supporting the club, could not negotiate a contract extension, and his departure was unavoidable as the season dwindled to its end. 

Lingard, who won the FA Cup, Community Shield, EFL Cup, and Europa League while at the club, believed his time at United wasn’t appreciated to the fullest that he thought he should’ve been. 

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“Twenty years of blood, sweat and tears, four domestic trophies, three cup final goals. Not even a farewell,” Jesse Lingard’s brother told told SPORTbible. 

 “It was the last home game, and he [Rangnick] didn’t put me on,” described Lingard. “I just thought, can you not put me on, even if it was just for the last five minutes, so I can clap the fans and have a send-off? I felt like I deserved that, to be honest.”

Despite Lingard’s perceived lack of empathy from then-interim manager Ralf Rangnick, who came in to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer midway through last season, the German utilised Lingard more than his predecessor.

However, denying the academy graduate a chance to say his goodbyes to the Old Trafford faithful was ultimately symbolic of Lingard’s last season at the club — unfulfilled promises and a lack of coherent communication from the player and the club. 

Lingard stated that a lack of game time was one of the deciding factors in his departure: “It’s always going to be difficult playing at United, but the lack of game time was the main thing. I just wanted to play football, and that was the main aim. There was no point in staying if I wouldn’t play.”

His lack of game time was evident in previous campaigns for the club. Even leaving on a six-month loan to West Ham under Solskjaer, where he shone at the Hammers — scoring nine goals and providing five assists in 16 appearances – was not enough for the Norwegian manager to grant Lingard a substantial role in the squad.

His performances at the East London club encouraged United to keep hold of him for the final year of his contract, but as mentioned, that would be his final year. Once again, the deciding factor was a lack of persuasion to stay through game time or trust from the management structure at the club. 

Lingard’s exit didn’t go unnoticed by everyone. As he was departing from Carrington for the final time, first-team physio Richard Merron was able to share his reflection of Lingard and his memorable goal that won United the FA Cup in 2016 and also his triumph in the youth team — winning the Youth cup as well. 

“It didn’t hit me until afterwards really,” Lingard recalled. “I remember we trained and stuff, like a normal day, and then Richard came up to me and said, ‘I’ll always remember your FA Cup goal and when we won the Youth Cup.’ And then it suddenly hit me.

“That little comment set me off straight away. I got into my car and started crying. I cried all the way home. That was hard.”

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Lingard, who joined Nottingham Forest in the summer on a one-year deal, is still anticipating the return to Old Trafford, hoping he can have that send-off he hoped for seven months prior, and of course, win. 

“Obviously, I didn’t do one last time. So, It’ll be good to see the fans and my old teammates again. But we’ll be going there to win. It’s not about seeing friends again. It’s an important game, which we need to win.”