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Jesse Lingard said that he turned to alcohol in order to deal with his career struggles when at Manchester United in a recent podcast interview.
The Nottingham Forest playmaker, now 30 years old, revealed that he drank “to try and take the pain away” during his time at the club, speaking on The Diary of A Podcast.
The attacking midfielder joined United at age seven and appeared over 230 times for the club’s senior side. However, the playmaker fell down the pecking order and went on to sign for Nottingham Forest in July of last year ahead of the current Premier League season.
Lingard Driven to Drink Due to Fan ‘Abuse’
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Speaking in this recent podcast interview, Lingard told of how the “abuse” he received from fans and poor treatment at Manchester United.
“I needed something to try and take the pain away,” Lingard said on the podcast.
“And put me at ease somehow,” the forward revealed, “I was drinking before bed, having a nightcap.”
“I look back now and think, ‘what was I doing that for?’ I was trying to forget what was going on,” he explained, “But it makes it 10 times worse.”
The Forest star also spoke of how his mother suffers from depression and was admitted into hospital in 2019 for treatment of the illness. This resulted in Lingard having to care for his two younger siblings at the time.
“The depression was so bad she couldn’t really cope any more and she needed to go away and get help,” Lingard said in the interview.
“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,” the England international explained.
“So I wasn’t really the big brother they wanted at the time,” he said, “I just wasn’t there mentally.”
Dealing with a lot of abuse from United fans as the club struggled, Lingard said he confided in manager at the time, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The player said that the coach “helped” him at a difficult time.
To be abused like that tipped it,” Lingard revealed. “I didn’t want to be on the pitch, I didn’t want to play.”
“I didn’t want to quit football,” he explained, “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,” he said.
Why Lingard Moved to Nottingham Forest
After making 22 appearances for United last season, Lingard joined the newly promoted Nottingham Forest on a free transfer after spending over two decades at Old Trafford.
“People probably thought I was happy to leave, but I needed to leave,” Lingard explained, “I wasn’t playing.”
“I got offered a contract, but what’s the point?” he said, “I wasn’t going to play. Yeah, it’s the biggest club in the world, but happiness is more important for me.”
Lingard has previously enjoyed a really successful loan spell at West Ham in the second half of the 2020/21 season under David Moyes and was linked with a move to the London side last year.
The Warrington born player netted nine goals and provided five assists in 16 games for Moyes’ Hammers side as they charged into the European places. The months spent at West Ham consist of the most impressive stats of the attacking midfielder’s playing career.
However, Lingard chose to go to Nottingham Forest and somewhat explained this decision in the recent podcast interview.
“Things broke down at West Ham, which I can’t get into too much, but Nottingham showed the love a lot more than West Ham,” Lingard told the podcast.
“Nottingham were like we love you, we want you, the manager will come to your house, the owner wants to fly you to Greece to sign the deal,” he said.
“For me it was a new challenge, a different challenge,” he stated, “Newly-promoted team and all I’ve known is United all my life.”
Lingard’s Unhappy Man United Exit
After spending 22 years at Man United, Lingard revealed that he was not happy how his exit from the club played out following the confirmation of his departure to Forest last summer.
“I didn’t really get a send-off,” Lingard recalled, “I had been there that long and think I deserved one.”
“I had been there all my life and I know everyone in the club from the staff to the kit men to the dinner ladies,” he said, “That had been my life.”
Having moved on to a new club, Lingard has had time to reflect on the way his previous club operated. The player revealed that he might have lost some respect for Man United since his exit.
“Probably, yeah. No balance, no structure, people doing what they want,” Lingard said, “It was like a free for all.”
“They are so behind with everything. You see (Manchester) City’s facilities, Tottenham’s facilities. People are miles ahead,” he said, “Even on the social side of things.”
Lingard has made 14 Premier League starts for Steve Cooper’s Forest side this season and the club currently occupy 13th place in the division.
Lingard has appeared twice for Forest in the EFL Carabao Cup, scoring twice and assisting twice for his team although he has yet to make that impact for the club in the English top flight.
With half the season remaining, the team could well find themselves battling for safety as they try to avoid immediate relegation back down to the Championship.
Five points separate Forest from the relegation problems (where West Ham currently sit in 18th) and Cooper’s outfit will need to continue battling if they are to secure another season in the Premier League after so long spent in the second tier of English football.
Lingard is expected to return from a hamstring injury he sustained by early February and could well be a major deciding factor in the form of Forest going forward for the rest of the season.
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