Jesse Lingard to FC Seoul - why has the former Man Utd wonderkid moved to Korea?

Jesse Lingard raised a number of eyebrows after the deadline day with an unexpected transfer to South Korean side FC Seoul. The club officially announced today that they signed a two-year contract with the former England international. The 31-year-old will join the team’s winter preseason training in Kagoshima, Japan as they prepare for the upcoming 2024 season. On Monday, Lingard was welcomed warmly by hundreds of Korean fans and media at Seoul’s Incheon International Airport. "I've always wanted a different challenge and to create new memories in my career," Lingard said in a video on YouTube after the announcement. "I believe South Korea is the perfect place for that."

Why did Lingard choose FC Seoul?

Lingard was also said to be in talks with Premier League side Everton and Japanese second-division team Yokohama FC but ultimately chose the most popular team in the K League. FC Seoul are six-time K League 1 winners, located in the nation’s capital with a population of 26 million residents. However, the club has struggled in recent years as they struggled to get out of the K League Final B (relegation zone) from 2020 to last year. Prior to that, FC Seoul was continuously competing for the title and participating in the AFC Champions League. After a disappointing 40th anniversary season, the club recently appointed a new head coach, Gi-dong Kim, who was extremely successful in his previous club Pohang Steelers. Lingard has been actively searching for a new team since his departure from Nottingham Forest in July, and both sides strategically planned the transfer. FC Seoul received Lingard's profile in November 2023, Korean journalist Jin-man Yoon from Sports Chosun said publicly. Subsequently, FC Seoul dispatched their assistant manager, Hyuk-soon Park, to England to assess Lingard's physical condition. Later Lingard’s associates also visited Seoul to check club facilities and the city in general, agent Sung-joo Kang later announced.

Questions arose as to whether Lingard was heading to Korea for financial reasons since neighbouring countries – China and Japan – have signed European stars like Oscar and Andrés Iniesta with notable amounts of money in recent years. On the other hand, K League’s financial scope was much smaller: according to the K League financial report, FC Seoul's total squad wage amounted to 13,239,655,000 KRW (€9.27m) last year, which was lower than Lingard’s reported one-year salary at Nottingham Forest of €12.2m. However, his salary in Seoul will not be particularly high compared to players in the Saudi Pro League. While the exact amount of the player’s wages remains unknown for now, he is set to become the highest-paid player in the K League, according to Korean media KBS. In 2023, the highest-paid player in the K League was Cesinha, who only earned 1,400,000,000 KRW (€980k) per year. 

The contract seems to include a certain level of freedom. Lingard is given space for his own businesses such as restaurants, fashion and esports. Back in August 2023, “JLINGZ Esports” signed a strategic partnership with Korean esports company FearX. Esports generated around €500m for the Korean economy last year, according to The Bank of Korea. Considering Korea’s strong video game industry and cultural influence, Seoul could have been an excellent city for Lingard’s out-of-football businesses. Lingard also has his own restaurant and fashion brand.

How will FC Seoul use Lingard?

FC Seoul had a rather quiet winter transfer window so far. While club legends Osmar and Yo-han Go left the club, the only notable arrivals were Brazilian winger Willyan, experienced midfielder Jae-moon Ryu and wingback Jun Choi. Recently the club also renewed the contract of former Premier League player and Korean National team captain Sung-yueng Ki. So what is FC Seoul’s game plan for superstar Jesse Lingard? As the past years have been disappointing for supporters, Lingard and newly appointed head coach Gi-dong Kim are hoping to bring back the old glory of Korea’s biggest football club. As Kim tends to prefer to play the 4-2-3-1 formation with roaming forwards, Lingard may serve attacking roles at various positions together with Palocevic next to him and Iljutcenko upfront. Last season, Korean World Cup player Sang-ho Na and former Norwegian international Bjørn Johnson did not meet the fans’ expectations. While Na’s performance since the World Cup has been dropping considerably, Johnson rarely played at all. With Lingard's arrival and Kim's tactical vision, FC Seoul aims to revitalise its squad and reclaim its position at the forefront of Korean football.