Lingard: I am misunderstood but it doesn’t bother me. I will let my football do the talking

With 9.6million followers on Instagram, his own clothing brand and an esports team to keep an eye on, some might question how Jesse Lingard has time to fit in a football career. Plenty have.

But ask people at Nottingham Forest and they will paint a very different picture to what his public persona might have you believe.

Steve Cooper regards him as being a “double-talented” player, but also somebody who has the right attitude, as well as the ability. On the training ground, Lingard has impressed with his professionalism and mentality. The 29-year-old is well liked and respected by the rest of the squad.

Last summer, Lingard joined Nottingham Forest to play regular football and to get back in the England squad. He might, so far, have only achieved the first of those ambitions. But he still believes achieving the first aim will help him tick off the second as well.

The attacking midfielder was included on the long-list England squad ahead of the World Cup in Qatar and, while he did not secure a place on the plane, following an initially unspectacular start to life at Forest, he has not given up hope that he will add to his 32 international caps, as part of an England team he believes should be confident of success at Euro 2024.

“Am I misunderstood? Yes, sometimes. But I love training. I love football. I love games. I always want to work hard. That is how you get the best out of me, when I work hard,” Lingard tells The Athletic. “There might be a tackle that lifts the crowd or just a moment that makes the crowd sit up and think, ‘He is on it today’. You need that intensity. I love winning. I could stay on the training ground all day. But the hard work side of things should be pretty normal for any professional, shouldn’t it?

“I can be misunderstood at times. But I will just carry on. I will do what I do and not listen to the noise.”

Lingard is somebody who likes to be busy; who likes to keep himself occupied away from football, which helps to explain his passion for his “JLINGZ” clothing brand and esports team.

“It is a balance. But football is my number one. That will be my love, no matter what. When I train I train at 100%. But when I come home, I might do something with regard to the business side of things. I might look at JLINGZ or at the social media stuff… it takes your mind away from certain things,” he says.

“I like to keep busy and I do want to explore a lot of different things, as well as football. I am into fashion, I am into gaming. I like to have interests away from football. But that does not mean I do not have a passion for the game. I do. I work hard every single day to make sure that I am ready.”

He is also keen for people to be able to see the difference between the person and the player, which was one of the reasons he agreed to take part in the hugely revealing recent Channel 4 documentary on his life and mental health struggles — The Jesse Lingard Story: Untold.

His own background, growing up as a football fan and kicking a ball around with his granddad on the local pitches, also helps to shape his thinking now. Following the landmark win over Liverpool at the City Ground in October, Lingard spent a long time seemingly trying to high five, fist pump or shake hands with every single one of the hundreds of fans who had waited by the players’ entrance.

“It is important for me to have that interaction with supporters. This is why I am on social media and do the things I do. I want the fans to know Jesse as a person and not just Lingard the footballer,” says Lingard. “For kids and for fans, they might never see you again — that might be the one moment they get to share with you.

“When I was younger, I wanted to meet all the players. You might never get the chance to see them more than once. You can make a kid’s day, you can put a smile on their face, just by doing those things. I think that is really important, because I remember how I felt.”

Lingard celebrates after beating Liverpool (Photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Lingard has also gone into partnership with metaverse platform Virtua, as he believes it will give him another opportunity to interact with fans in a different kind of space. “I am new to it myself, but it is another way to interact with fans, which is important to me. It is a new thing that I am diving into. I am interested to see how it all works,” says Lingard.

Lingard, born in Cheshire, joined the Manchester United academy at the age of seven. He had loan spells at Leicester, Birmingham, Brighton, Derby and West Ham, but also made 232 appearances for United, scoring 35 goals, before reluctantly deciding to leave in search of more regular game time at the end of last season.

He will head to Manchester as a Forest player for the first time on December 27.

“I am excited about going back to Old Trafford. I will go there wanting to win — that is the most important thing. It will be emotional on one front. But we have a job to do,” he says. “If we can get three points, that is the most important thing. I will look forward to catching up with a lot of people after the game. But I want to do that after a win.

“I wanted to play regular football. It is hard sitting on the bench. It was my time to move on. I knew it would benefit me, if I moved to Nottingham. I had lots of conversations with the owners; with the Marinakis family. They showed a lot of love towards me. You have to go into a team where you feel wanted. I felt that more from them than from anyone else.”

Lingard in action in the FA Cup for Manchester United in January last season (Photo: Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Lingard has made 11 starts and three substitute appearances for Forest after joining in the final weeks before the season started. It has taken him a little while to look properly sharp. But, in the final two games before the international break, he began to shine — scoring his first goal for the club in the Carabao Cup win over Tottenham.

“The atmosphere is one of the best I have experienced. I get goosebumps every single time I hear them singing (Mull of Kintyre) before kick-off,” says Lingard. “The home games will be vital for us because we have our fans backing us and that does make a difference. It is a new experience; a different experience — but I am taking it on and loving it. I just like to enjoy the moment.

“I am in a good space. It can take a bit of time to settle in. But in the Tottenham game in particular, I felt so much more like myself. That carried on into the Palace game. I wanted to carry on. But the break will have done us good. The training camp trip to Greece (where Forest went during the World Cup break) will have helped with team bonding. It was a good chance to get to know people.”

That last comment is more pertinent at Forest than anywhere, with Lingard one of 22 summer additions at Forest as the club looked to strengthen for the top flight following promotion.

“I have found it easy to settle in. We have had a lot of new players, which can make it hard for some I guess… but we are definitely gelling now. It has taken a bit of time,” says Lingard. “But I believe we can do more than just stay up, definitely. We should aim higher. It is up to us to have that confidence. We must believe we can achieve more.”

Forest have looked stronger in recent months, after head coach Cooper decided to adopt a more disciplined, slightly more defensive outlook. They have won three, drawn three and lost two of their last eight games in all competitions and a 1-0 win over Palace ensured they climbed off the bottom of the table and left them only one point from safety heading into the international break.

“We have found a structure in defence; we have found a way of doing things. We get players behind the ball a little bit more,” says Lingard. “But the attacking threat is still there. We have a lot of pace. We have players who can produce a bit of magic. It is an exciting team to be part of.”

Some had doubts over whether Lingard and £25million club-record signing Morgan Gibbs-White could play in the same team. While they are different players, they like to occupy similar spaces. But that notion had been dispelled recently — and Lingard himself never had any doubts.

“I think we hit it off straight away. He is such an intelligent player and understands the game,” he says. “Having a connection with him was really easy, from the get go. You have to understand a player’s game; how they like to do things — the runs they will make. I have got my first goal now and I do feel that there are more to come, definitely. I just want to get into positions where I can be a threat.”

Lingard did not get to achieve his dream of heading to another World Cup, having been a key part of Gareth Southgate’s squad in 2018, when he started five games, including the semi-final defeat to Croatia. But he does understand how the England players will be feeling after being knocked out by France in the quarter-finals this time, with Harry Kane missing a penalty in a narrow 2-1 defeat.

Lingard in action for England in the 2018 World Cup semi-final against Croatia (Photo: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)

“The players will be devastated. We had a really good chance to win the tournament, with the strength in depth that we had. They will be hurting for a while after that,” says Lingard. “It is not a nice feeling losing any game — but on a World Cup stage it hurts more. They made the country proud once again. It is still a stepping stone. I would say we can win the Euros and we have to look forward now to trying to do exactly that.”

Lingard also hopes to see Southgate remain in his job, with the England head coach contemplating his future.

“I would definitely like to see him carry on. His man-management is great. He wants to understand you as a person; he wants to get to know your family and understand them. The World Cup I was involved in was so family-orientated. You got to see your family on a regular basis. He has it in his power to make you, as a player, feel comfortable. He has experience and he has a knack of making you better. I would love to see him stay on.

A dejected Lingard alone on the pitch after England’s defeat by Croatia in 2018 in Russia (Photo: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

“Steve Cooper is very similar. He rings you all the time; he speaks to you one-on-one. Not even always about football. It can be about life in general. How things are with you. That can make you feel comfortable; that can give you confidence. I know I can speak to him whenever I want. That means a lot. They have similar qualities, him and Gareth.

“I would definitely hope to get back in there (the England squad). All I can do is perform well at Forest and hope I can do enough to get that call-up. I am positive. The last few results you could see that I am enjoying it; that I am playing with confidence.”

When Lingard signed for Forest, the club wanted him to sign a two-year deal. Lingard eventually signed as a free agent for one season, on wages of £115,000 ($142,000) a week, with some hefty bonuses included. When asked what the future might hold beyond that, Lingard does not give much away — although the fact that being happy in his football is his priority could work in Forest’s favour.

“I just want to help Forest this season. I don’t know what the future will hold. But I am enjoying it here. I always have a smile on my face in training and going into games. Happiness is key for me. That is always the most important thing.”

(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)