Jesse Lingard is a player who has become synonymous with Manchester United, but it could have been so different.
The 25-year-old is now a fixture of Jose Mourinho’s squad and is a loud and proud Red Devils fan from birth. However, he has revealed that things could have been very different but for one small and simple reason.
Speaking to the Mail Online, the England international admitted that he had spent his younger days playing for both clubs’ youth teams before eventually deciding to stay at Old Trafford.
His reason? Quite simply, someone didn’t pass the ball to him. Yes, it was because someone chose to pass the ball to someone else.
If that sounds far fetched, just read the man’s words himself:
“One day I was at Liverpool and someone didn’t pass the ball to me and I thought, “I can’t be doing this”.
“I walked out and said to my grandad, ‘Let’s stay at United instead’. I swear that was the reason. I felt more comfortable at United. I knew I had to make a choice. Grandad looked after me. He still comes now and then to support me and he still texts me before games.”
While we can’t help but laugh at how petty a reason it was, we also understand that he was only a child at the time. Also, it indicates the mind set – even at such a young age – that Lingard had, and one that is necessary to reach the heights he has now hit.
It also makes us wonder though, how different would things be if he had just stayed? Would he be Milly Rocking and dabbing in front of the Kop? I guess we’ll never know.
