Jesse Lingard: Manchester United’s structure is so far behind the other Premier League clubs

Manchester United have been trying to find stability ever since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club, with plenty of examples appearing in the last decade proving just how far behind they are to other Premier League clubs.

One player who experienced almost every second of this turbulence during his time at the club was Jesse Lingard, who played for the first team for almost 10 years between 2014 and 2022.

Manchester United have had six managers since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club in 2013, with five of them trying and failing to implement their own ideas on how to bring the club into a new age – and Lingard has explained to the Diary of a CEO podcast that they still have a long way to go.

Read More: Bruno Fernandes & Erik ten Hag make honest admission about Man United penalty claim in 1-1 draw vs Crystal Palace

Speaking on his former employers, Lingard said: I feel like United are still behind on everything. You see City’s facilities, Tottenham’s facilities…people are miles ahead. Even the social side of things.”

Despite boasting about being one of the most-followed clubs on the planet, Manchester United have only recently crawled onto the scene on social media, much later than many others clubs such as Manchester City and a fair number of German clubs, who have a well-established network and presence on the platform.

“I went to them in 2017 about YouTube and doing content – they are so behind, I just wanted them to get up to date with everything and what’s popping,” Lingard explained. “You have to be relevant and stay relevant.”

Another criticism Manchester United have seen crop up time and time again are their training facilities. It was revealed a few season ago that the women’s team had no dedicated spaces to shower, with temporary showers being set up a 10-minute walk away from any training ground.

“You see City’s facilities and you’re like get up to the date, catch up a little bit,” Lingard explained. “Like you’re way behind at the moment.

“There’s no games room anymore. You go in, train and go home. Sometimes you stay at the training ground. Play darts with the lads, play table tennis. They need to catch up a little more and become more modern.”

Read More: Five things learned as Manchester United draw to Crystal Palace

Jesse Lingard also spoke to Steven Bartlett on which manager he felt had the most control and was bringing United back to what they were under Sir Alex: “Probably Van Gaal. He has a structure. Everyone understood what he wanted. I love Van Gaal. Very tactical, everyone bought into that.”

Lingard also had plenty of praise for Jose Mourinho, calling him the “best manager in the world”. Lingard scored in the finals of two of the three trophies Mourinho won at the club, having his best season as Red Devil under the Portuguese manager.

“Jose Mourinho was the best manager in the world. Just wants to win. Had that man management as well and belief in me. I went to the World Cup because of him, had one of my best seasons.”