Jesse Lingard is happy with his decision to move to South Korea, despite making a poor start on the pitch and seeing his wages drop considerably.
Lingard shocked the football world when he signed a two-year contract with FC Seoul in February. The 31-year-old attacking midfielder said he had 26 clubs around the world interested in acquiring his services, but decided on the club in the South Korean capital.
He has presented a happy front to his 9.4million Instagram followers over the past month, posting a picture of himself in a Korean barbecue restaurant with the caption “The boy is happy” last week. The K League got underway on the weekend, giving Lingard a chance to play competitive football for the first time since April 16, 2023, when he featured for Nottingham Forest against his former club Manchester United.
It did not go to plan, with Seoul beaten 2-0 by Gwangju and Lingard only appearing as a substitute and picking up a yellow card for a late challenge during his 13-minute cameo. Despite the result and his own contribution, Lingard posted on Instagram: “Blessed and grateful to be back on the pitch doing what I love best.”
He is reportedly earning just £17,500 per week with Seoul – a huge amount in other lines of work, but considerably less than at his previous clubs. The former England midfielder reportedly pulled in £180,000 per week at Forest and made £100,000-a-week during the latter stages of his time at Manchester United.
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Lingard will earn around £910,000 per year from Seoul, but has many other business interests, including a chain of jerk chicken restaurants and a clothing brand, which supplement his income. And South Korea seems to suit Lingard, who spoke glowingly about his new club at his unveiling.
“I’m really excited, it’s a new challenge but I’ve accepted it,” he said. "I’m here, I’m ready to embrace the culture. It’s a new beginning for me, a new chapter in my career. I just want to enjoy playing football again and putting a smile on people’s faces and showing the Korean fans what I can do.
Jesse Lingard came off the bench for FC Seoul on Saturday (@thfc_cho)“When FC Seoul came into the equation, the commitment that they showed, they flew to Manchester to watch me train, I got put through some tests by the physios. They came with the contract on paper. There were multiple offers which were all verbal. The commitment shown by Seoul showed their interest and how much they wanted me and I wanted to repay that by going to the club.”
Lingard will make his home debut for Seoul when they host Incheon in the K League on Sunday. He will hope that his nightmare debut won’t hurt his chances of earning a start at the 66,000 capacity Seoul World Cup Stadium.
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