Jesse Lingard reveals tense conversation he had with John Murtough when Manchester United denied his January loan move

Jesse Lingard was at Manchester United for 20 years, rising through the youth academy to establish himself as a first team regular under Jose Mourinho, before he eventually decided to leave the club for free in 2022.

Lingard, who now plays for Nottingham Forest, has been one of Manchester United‘s most successful players in the last decade, winning four trophies at the club and scoring in three finals.

His ending as a Manchester United player was not a dream farewell that many would have wished for, with Lingard being phased out of the team and left to sit on the bench for the majority of the last season.

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Speaking on Steve Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO podcast, Lingard has explained that the club blocked him from going on loan to Newcastle United, despite his repeated requests to leave.

“They let a couple of players go out on loan in January, but when it came to me, John Murtough rang and said ‘No, you’re not going on loan (To Newcastle)’,” explained Lingard.

“I was like, ‘Well, he’s gone on loan – let me go and enjoy my football as I’m not playing here.’ He asked ‘What do you want, days off?’ and I said ‘No, I just want to go and play football’.”

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Lingard went on to explain that he was incredibly frustrated at what he perceived to be harsh treatment by Murtough, the club’s football director, and failed to understand why the club then stated that he asked for two days off in the media, when he never did.

“So, then they stopped the loan – I was pissed – and when he said ‘Did I want days off’, so I messaged him and said “I am going to take two days off now, just because you said that,” he explained.

“Then they put out “Jesse’s asked for two days off in the media,” I was like “what?” I went on Twitter straight away and put the facts out there.”