Jesse Lingard has given a tell-all interview on Stephen Bartlett’s Diary Of A CEO podcast, discussing his struggles with depression, alcohol, falling out of favour at Manchester United and more.
Speaking on the popular podcast series earlier this week, the former United academy player opened up about how the final days at his boyhood club transpired, shedding light not only on his own personal struggles but decisions made in the background by higher-ups which only hampered things even further.
Lingard spent 22 years a the club and broke into the first team in the 2015/16 season under Louis van Gaal, scoring winning goals in both the FA Cup final and Community Shield and going on to become a trusted first-team regular under multiple managers.
However, the Warrington-born midfielder fell out of the squad in 2019 and only managed four starts in 22 appearances during his final season under Ole Gunnar Solskjær and interim coach Ralf Rangnick. As he explained to Bartlett, there was a lot more than just a lack of game time going on behind the scenes.
Jesse Lingard reveals the problem with Man U today and why he moved to Nottingham Forrest@JesseLingard is no stranger to extreme pressure, but what do you do when it all gets too much and you’ve got the eyes of the nation on you?
One of the first things he covered in the lengthy and extremely honest discussion was how things turned so sour at United that he started to use drinking and regular ‘nightcaps’ as a way to “try and take the pain away”.
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Not only did he stop getting game-time at Old Trafford but despite looking like a rejuvenated and crucially happy figure while spending half a season out on loan at West Ham in 2021 — bagging nine goals and five assists in 19 games — he also had a transfer blocked by the club in January 2022.
As was reported at the time, despite United deciding to keep him as a squad player, newly bought Newcastle were also reportedly in for the 30-year-old following his resurgent spell in London but the board ultimately decided to block the move.
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It was later reported that Jesse asked for days off which he denied publicly at the time and went on to reiterate to Bartlett that it was a fabrication by then-newly appointed football director, John Murtough, and made public by Rangnick. Always two sides to every story.
To make matters worse, it’s not like anyone could begrudge Lingard for requesting time off even if he did; on top of the horrific levels of abuse he was receiving from his own club’s fans, he was also struggling with numerous personal issues.
As well as his grandfather battling prostate cancer (a figure who has always played a key role in his life), he was also having to deal with his mother’s struggles with depression, which became so severe that she was admitted to hospital in 2019, leaving Jesse to look after younger siblings Jasper and Daisy-Boo.
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“The depression was so bad she couldn’t really cope anymore and she needed to go away and get help,” he told Bartlett. “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.”
He confessed, “I just wasn’t there mentally” and noted that he receive some support from Solskjær during the difficult period. Despite having wanted to get back out there and play football for so long, he said he suddenly “didn’t want to be on the pitch” anymore and needed a break from the spotlight.
Reminder for those of you that think it’s ok to abuse footballers just because they earn millions and you pay to watch them kick a ball around every week that footballers are human.
It’s deeply saddening to hear that the faithful United servant and England international was subjected to such poor treatment by fans from his own club while all this was going on. More importantly, it’s an important reminder that abuse of any kind, online or otherwise, is simply not on.
Now thankfully enjoying his football again at Nottingham Forest, Lingard later went on to try and explain the various issues surrounding his former club. Putting it quite simply, he said that they are “so far behind on everything”, whether it be the training facilities, the recruitment or even the social media.
Many have noted that these comments echo the complaints made by Cristiano Ronaldo in his no-holds-barred interview shortly before he was released from the club too, though admittedly, we’re sure most Reds would agree — it was more the way he went about it.
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You can watch Jesse Lingard’s full interview on The Diary Of A CEO podcast down below:
Featured Image — Diary Of A CEO (via YouTube)/Jesse Lingard (via Instagram)
Sport
The Premier League and EFL should follow La Liga’s lead and bring Retro Matchdays to the UK
Danny Jones
Following the news that La Liga is set to debut a new ‘Retro Matchday’ round, we can’t help but ask the question: why didn’t the Premier League and EFL think of this first?
Well, technically, neither did the Spaniards, but you take our point.
Anyone who follows the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, or even the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) equivalent here in the UK and mainland Europe, will know that the concept is nothing new – but by and large, it seems to be for the beautiful game.
In case you missed it, in an effort to further capitalise on the increasing trend of vintage and classic football kit fashion/the wider nostalgia culture that only seems to be growing every year, Spain’s top two tiers will soon host their inaugural Retro Matchday gameweek next month, and we want a piece of it.
Set to be hosted from Friday, 10 April, over the usual weekend of football in their premier and second division, and running until the final lot of fixtures on Monday, 13 April (no, thankfully not an April Fool’s), supporters will get to see players step out onto the pitch in some of the country’s most iconic kits.
Depending on who you ask, some would argue that Spain has some of the nicest footy shirts all time, whether that be the national side or clubs themselves.
To be honest, we definitely have a soft spot for a proper European throwback – we’re thinking Borussia Dortmund’s 1995/96 home kit, the Napoli kits of the 80s, that amazing Toyota-sponsored Fila Fiorentina kit at the turn of the millennium – and even some of the best 2000s ones now look so old-school.
In fact, we actually had a taster of these kinds of special matches in the past, including here in 0161 for the likes of the Manchester Derby.
Reminds me of the Manchester derby in 2008 where they played in retro kits due to it coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Munich disaster. Looked absolutely brilliant. pic.twitter.com/TLRjKHThbG
When you also take into account that, besides collectors already creating a whole new craze in filling their cupboards with classic kits, the likes of Nike, Adidas and more now regularly turning to old designs like the ‘Futura’, Total 90′ and various ‘adi Originals’ revivals of late, it’s more the rage than ever.
Birmingham’s recent ‘penguin’ remake, Port Vale’s traditional 150th anniversary one, based on their 1953-54 season jersey, not to mention countless other lifestyle fashion collections inspired by historic releases, you can’t move for the stuff – so why not get them wearing it on the grass?
As mentioned, the likes of local ice hockey outfit Manchester Storm have been taking a leaf out of the NHL’s book for ages now, with the annual ‘Retro Nights’ proving to be some of the most popular dates on the calendar, even selling off original shirts in the stadium itself before, during and after the match.
We genuinely can’t think of a single football lover following a team at any level in the English football pyramid that wouldn’t LOVE this. In fact, plenty of them already go to the ground wearing their dad’s second-hand away strip, which has turned out to be a modern cult favourite among the next generation.
These are the kinds of ideas we can see fans actually getting behind; you can find out more HERE. Would you like to see a retro Premier League and/or EFL match day featuring your favourite kits from down the years?
Liam Broady is on the comeback – here’s why you need to watch out for him at Wimbledon
The Manc
Local tennis player Liam Broady is quietly rising back up the ranks on the ITF Tour, and here’s why we think you should watch out for him come Wimbledon 2026 this summer.
He is physical proof that the ATP Tour ranking means so much to a player’s career.
The Stockport-born tennis player has suffered many injury setbacks since turning pro in 2014. With a host of ankle and back injuries plaguing his playing career, he has had to turn to the ITF (International Tennis Federation) Tour to climb the rankings once again.
He is currently placed at 283* on the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Tour after reaching two semi-finals in the space of a month.
With wins on two of Portugal’s hard courts in Faro and Santo António, the 32-year-old has climbed from rank 303 at the start of the year to under the threshold in less than three months.
His hard work on outdoor courts is paying off as his seeding is slowly improving, and his opponents are becoming less of a challenge.
For the unititated, the ATP ranking is decided by a points system that determines your playing level, and therefore who you can possibly draw, with lower seeds getting tougher games as they need more points, and vice versa.
These point tallies factor into every win, loss, serve, and shot as it propels you up or down the table.
With an injury over Christmas, the Stopfordian Team GB player came back stronger for the start of the annual tournament calendar and now looks to be in fighting form on the ITF Tour.
He’s definitely had to tackle some obstacles over the years, both on and off the court…
Competing solely on outdoor hard courts to gain his fitness levels back is necessary, but the grass courts – his speciality – will come around with time and consistent form, with Wimbledon being his home tournament and his highlight of the competitive calendar.
His career best ranking was 93, after becoming the first British wildcard entry to beat an ATP top five player in 2023 when defeating Casper Rudd on Wimbledon’s centre court.
His win against the Norwegian in round two sent him into the top 100 rankings for the first time, and into the shining spotlight alongside British tennis stars.
The adverse effects of time away from the tour are clear to see with Broady’s peaks and dips in the table below; this means taking a hit to player motivation, game-to-game momentum and teamworking within doubles pairs.
Liam Broady’s career rankings progression chart. (Credit: ATP Tour)
It is a likely situation for players to neglect their doubles career without the added stress of injury, so if they are to arise, it does not just impact individual physicality levels but also communication between doubles pairs.
A fellow British player with similar injury problems is Emma Raducanu, who rose to fame with a shocking US Open grand slam win as a qualifier. Since her win, she has had multiple surgeries, which saw her plummet down WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) standings due to time spent off court.
The issues that come with injury upsets can make a career really difficult to reclaim, even at a young age; tour rankings can be brutal on game time and match opponents, such as Broady’s Wimbledon draw against Holland’s Van De Zandschulp and Raducanu’s recent draw against American no.3 Anisimova.
We hope to see Team GB’s athletes fit and ready to fight on tour, and we have a strong feeling we’ll see native talent Broady back in the spotlight where he belongs.
Danny Jones -
20th January 2023 
