Jesse Lingard opens up on emotional reason for long break from football as ex-Man Utd star explains why he joined FC Seoul in South Korea

The former Manchester United player left Nottingham Forest as a free agent in June 2023, but it wasn't until February of this year that he joined K-League team Seoul. Now, the 31-year-old has lifted the lid on what he wants to achieve at the South Korean team and how he put his family first towards the end of last year.

He told The Times: "People wondered why I swapped the Premier League for the K League in South Korea, but I wanted an adventure and a new type of challenge. When I signed for FC Seoul it was for two years, not just the season, because my goal is to bring trophies to my team and leave a legacy here. I’m so hungry for that. We’ve made the play-offs and that’s not a bad first step."

On his family struggles, he added: "For pretty much the entire season [with Forest] I suffered severe tendinitis in my knees and Achilles. Sometimes I played in pain and other times I was just too sore to play at all. The only cure was rest but, in the summer, when I was out of contract, my nan got ill. She was an amazing woman - Pamela Lingard - and she and my grandad brought me up while, for long parts of my childhood, my mum battled depression.

"But over the course of last summer, she became really poorly. She was in and out of hospital and though I was training hard and missed being at a club, it felt like being out of contract was God’s plan: I’m not going to give you a team right now, you need to stay home and be with your family. So that’s what I did. I spent as much time as I could with them and in November, when Nan passed away, Grandad took it really hard. He was depressed and suffering dizzy spells and was hospitalised himself. He needed looking after too, and there was the funeral to organise and a speech to give."

Lingard reportedly turned down a number of options before joining Forest - in what proved to be a disastrous move - and now he is coming to the end of his first season at Seoul. Despite a rocky start, he has scored five goals and bagged one assist in 21 matches and his side are now in the play-offs. Many questioned the former England international's move to Korea but it seems he is happy with the decision he took.

Lingard's team begin their title bid next Sunday away to Gangwon, before taking on Suwon FC, Pohang Steelers, Ulsan and Gimcheon Sangmu over the next month. He may need to be at his best to help Seoul win a trophy this season.