A former Manchester United star has opened up about the mental health struggles he suffered during his time at Old Trafford, with the player admitting he would resort to alcohol to make the pain go away.
Lingard joined United academy as a youth star and went on to make his first team debut in 2014. In the years that followed, the forward would go on to make over 200 appearances for the club under managers Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho, before beginning to experience reduced game time under the two coaches that came later, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick.
In January 2021, the England international was sent out on a successful six-month loan spell to West Ham United, and in the following 2021/22 season, he decided to remain in Manchester and fight for his place, despite serious interest from The Hammers to give him a permanent contract.
The decision would prove to be a disaster, as Lingard's game time became increasingly less, with the attacker only playing 584 minutes of football the whole of last season; something the player has now admitted led him to a very dark place.
"I was having conversations with people and I was just like: 'Yeah. OK. Yeah,'" he told the Guardian. "Nothing would register. It would go in one ear and out the other. I was numb and I wanted to be in that numb state where I didn't have to feel anything.
"Literally, I just wanted to sit at home and drink a little bit – try and take the pain away. I don't do that, normally. But sitting at home and drinking before bed … that's when I knew I was in a bad situation. It wasn't drinking in excess, it was just little bits through the week."
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"I just felt so much scrutiny, especially after the Derby [March 2020] game and I was getting abuse as I got on the bus," Lingard added.
"I can normally take it but sometimes it gets to a point where it's like "Ahh, I can't even be arsed doing this any more.
"Nobody really knew about my struggles off the pitch so they think "You're a footballer, you live in a nice house, you've got money, you can deal with anything." But when it's someone's health and well being – it's a different situation. We're all human.
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Lingard has since joined Nottingham Forest on a one-year spell, which will expire at the end of the season. His output, however, has been quite underwhelming having only registered two goal involvements in 14 appearances for the club.
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