08 February 2024 , 05:22
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Former Manchester United star Jesse Lingard is reportedly expected to earn £17,500 per week once he completes his move to South Korean side FC Seoul.
Lingard is on the verge of signing a two-year deal with Seoul after flying out on Sunday to agree terms and complete a medical. This is set to be Lingard's first move since leaving Nottingham Forest last summer. The 31-year-old spent one season at The City Ground following his departure from United.
According to Chosun Ilbo, via Korea JoongAng Daily - two of Korea's leading news outlets - Lingard is set to become the highest-paid player in the K League. He is in line to earn £17,500 per week, which is a massive drop from the £180,000 per week he was collecting at Forest.
It means Lingard is set to collect £910,000 per year as he prepares to join Seoul after receiving offers from as many as 25 clubs from around the world. Lazio were amongst the other teams to show interest in Lingard, who trained at Inter Miami, West Ham and Al-Ettifaq in an attempt to keep fit after leaving Forest.
Last week, Seoul manager Kim Gi-dong confirmed that talks had been taking place for Lingard, who has not played a competitive game since coming off the bench for Forest against United last April. He said: "I heard about it two to three weeks ago and I thought it was unrealistic.
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"I asked our director of football about it and he replied to me: yes, it's true, we are in contact with the player, but the deal is not confirmed yet. If he comes, of course, it would be great for K-League as more foreign fans would be interested in our league. And if he comes as he was not playing for a while, we need to give him time to adapt rather than expect an instant impact.'"
Jesse Lingard has not played a competitive game since last April (Getty Images)On Sunday night, Lingard posted a photo on his Instagram story at the airport with luggage as he prepared to check in for a Korean Air flight. When he arrived Lingard was mobbed by fans at Incheon airport and was handed a flute as a bizarre welcome present. The thought process behind the gift was one of Lingard's memorable celebrations, which saw him play the musical instrument after scoring.
FC Seoul are six-time K League champions and have reached the final of the Asian Champions League twice. They start their 2024 campaign off with a trip to Gwangju on March 2.