Former Manchester United star player Jesse Lingard has revealed how he managed the trauma her went through while was with the club. The player who is now with Nottingham Forest said he turned to drink “to try and take the pain away.” The England forward struggled to deal with his career at Manchester United.
Jesse Lingard talks About Bad Treatment he Received at United
The 30-year-old joined the club when he was just seven and made over 230 senior appearances for the club but fell out of first-team favour before joining Nottingham Forest in July 2022. Speaking on The Diary Of A CEO podcast, he recalled the “abuse” from fans and his treatment at Old Trafford.
He said: ”I needed something to try and take the pain away.” “And put me at ease somehow. I was drinking before bed, having a nightcap.”
He also said; “I look back now and think, ‘what was I doing that for?’ I was trying to forget what was going on. But it makes it 10 times worse.” The England international also spoke about his mother’s battle with depression, which resulted in him caring for his younger siblings Jasper and Daisy-Boo, when she was admitted to the hospital for treatment in 2019.
“The depression was so bad she couldn’t really cope anymore and she needed to go away and get help,” he added. “But leaving me with my little sister who was 11 at the time, and my little brother who was 15, for me, I was still going through my own things as well.
“So I wasn’t really the big brother they wanted at the time. I just wasn’t there mentally.”
The attacking midfielder said he confided in the then-United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer about the abuse from the supporters and personal issues he was experiencing. He said Solskjaer “helped” during a difficult time in his career.
“To be abused like that tipped it,” Lingard said. “I didn’t want to be on the pitch, I didn’t want to play. “I didn’t want to quit football. I never would have quit football, but I needed a break. “We kept it close-knit, but even just to have Ole say, ‘how is your mum? How is she doing?’ helped to let people know what I was going through.”
Jesse Lingard said there was “no structure” and it was like a “free for all” at Manchester United
After 22 years at Old Trafford, Lingard joined Forest on a free transfer. He made 22 appearances for United in his last season, but only four of those were starts.
“People probably thought I was happy to leave, but I needed to leave,” he said. “I wasn’t playing.
“I got offered a contract, but what’s the point? I wasn’t going to play. Yeah, it’s the biggest club in the world, but happiness is more important to me.”
