Former Manchester United and England star Jesse Lingard scored a superb goal for FC Seoul during a K League match out in South Korea.
Just like a week in the countryside or a bowl of homemade chicken soup, leaving United has become one of life’s restorative remedies.
From Scott McTominay becoming Maradona’s heir in Naples to Antony suddenly remembering he’s got two feet at Betis, moving away from Old Trafford is the literal definition of weight off one’s shoulders.
If we were betting men, we’d be putting serious money on Marcus Rashford flourishing at Barcelona. Away from Europe’s prying eyes, Lingard is also enjoying a second wind.
Forget his last season on the bench at United or his ill-fated move to Nottingham Forest; the midfielder is thriving in Asia like a previously wayward backpacker discovering the meaning of life.
Playing against Ulsan on Sunday, Lingard hovered at the edge of the penalty area while the two teams engaged in a spot of head tennis.
One Seoul team-mate cushioned the ball with his head into Lingard’s path, who teed himself up before lashing an unstoppable half-volley past the despairing goalkeeper.
Ignore the absence of any tight marking – the referee was the closest player on the pitch to the former England man – and marvel at the ridiculous technique and sheer audacity needed to score such a goal.
The Korean fans let out a sound of ecstasy not heard in a football stadium since their country’s improbable run to the 2002 World Cup semi-finals, providing a nostalgia rush for any thirty-something viewer. Glorious.
🇰🇷 Jesse Lingard, what a hit! 🔥
Incredible strike from Lingard today over in South Korea. He scored the only goal of the game to secure a 1-0 win for Seoul earlier this morning. #KLeague pic.twitter.com/oBHOw45rpP
— English Players Abroad (@EnglishAbroad1) July 20, 2025
Asian football expert and author John Duerden has seen the impact Lingard has made in the K League from his home in Seoul.
“Not many foreign players make the national news in South Korea for actions on and off the pitch,” he told The Sun in February 2025. “But Jesse Lingard has not been any normal signing.
“For a start, he is the biggest name import to play in the 42-year-old K League and, therefore, has had more expectations and pressure than others.
“In the early days, it looked as if it wasn’t going to happen at FC Seoul, one of the country’s big clubs that has struggled a little in recent years.
“He took time to settle, leading to a rebuke, of sorts, from the coach, but most don’t appreciate how big a cultural difference there is between South Korea and the UK, both on and off the pitch.
“Just take the weather, absolutely freezing in winter and very hot and very humid in the summer and then there is the rainy season.”
Just like Manchester, then.
But the spirit in which Lingard has embraced Korean life, posting clips of himself eating Korean BBQ and even releasing a Korean rap song, goes against all stereotypes of Brits going abroad and pining for Cornflakes and Coronation Street.
“Usual interactions with foreign players have usually not progressed much past questions such as ‘do you like kimchi?’ Or ‘how good is Son Heung-min?’ and comments about chopstick-wielding competence,” Duerdan added.
“This is not something that has happened in the K-League before, it is a competition that is solid but seen by many, at home and abroad, as lacking a little in the excitement and coolness stakes.
“Officials at Seoul and at league headquarters were delighted. Lingard may not rival some of the megastars in Saudi Arabia in terms of talent and achievements.
“But he has brought a certain coolness and street cred that wasn’t really thought about when Seoul decided to try and sign him.
“It helps that he is here at a time when there is huge global interest in Korean music, food, television, beauty products, fashion, technology and movies and getting involved in that culture is always going to go down well.
“Too many foreign players stay in their bubbles and rarely experience, let alone embrace, the culture. Lingard has shown what can be done. Like anywhere, the more you put in, the more you get out.”
Since leaving Manchester United in 2022, one of football’s freer spirits has found the perfect environment to regain a love of the game that must have started to wane.
Lingard was made captain of FC Seoul last summer and is scoring worldies with a casual flick of his boot.
Just look at what leaving Old Trafford does for the seoul (sorry).
By Michael Lee
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