Lingard aiming high in second season in S. Korea after shock move

The 32-year-old had a rocky start to his K League career after joining Seoul in February last year, being publicly criticised by his coach and missing an early chunk of the season through injury.

But the attacking midfielder returned to lead his team to a fourth-place finish, taking over the captain's armband midway through the season and scoring six goals in 26 games. The new K League campaign kicks off on Saturday and Lingard said he had high hopes.

"We finished in a great position last year," he told reporters. "It was a tough season but we overcame that, our mentality got a lot better throughout the season.

"This season, with belief and with confidence, and the right mentality and focus on the training pitch and on the pitch, I believe we can achieve whatever we want to achieve this season."

Lingard stopped short of predicting that Seoul would win their first league title since 2016 - the year he scored Manchester United's winner in the FA Cup final. "Tomorrow's not even promised so to think about the champion of the K League? Nah, you can't at the moment," he said.

Lingard spent 22 years at United but he often struggled to hold down a regular place in the team and he left Old Trafford in 2022. He previously revealed that he used alcohol to "try to take the pain away" as he battled mental demons caused by his stalling United career and his mother's bouts of depression.

This week Lingard took a swipe at a fan on social media who said he and former United team-mates Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford had "destroyed the culture" at troubled United.

"Of course we made mistakes and we learn but we gonna have fun and smile and dance," he wrote on X, adding that he "had to reply to that shambolic accusation". Lingard struggled after his United exit and was without a club for several months after leaving Nottingham Forest, before joining Seoul in a bid to "enjoy playing football again".

He quickly ran into trouble when new coach Kim Gi-dong accused him of not pulling his weight just weeks into the season, saying the former England star was not "a real footballer". Almost a year on, Lingard said he was impressed with the "exceptional young talent" at FC Seoul.

"They've got the right mentality, they work hard in training, they stay after training and practise," he said. "This is the elite mentality that we want to see for them to get into the A team."