Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan has hit out at Jesse Lingard after he “flushed” years of his career and will be remembered for “TikTok videos”.
The England international currently finds himself without a club having left Manchester United at the end of last season with the expiry of his contract. Despite the likes of Newcastle and West Ham United having been credited with an interest in Lingard, he is yet to pen fresh terms elsewhere.
Amid the delay over the next stage of his career, Simon Jordan has hit out at the former Red Devil for prioritising his social media instead of focusing on football despite Lingard having only joined TikTok less than a month ago.
Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: "Jesse Lingard has taken three years of his career and flushed it because he doesn't accept the principles of he's not really regarded at Man United to get in their team.
"He had an opportunity to go to West Ham, and he's made it about finances because he'd run down his contract to a free transfer.
"Because he knows that the free transfer side of things will enable his wage packet to be at a certain level and that's his choice. Jesse Lingard will be remembered, for me, for TikTok videos."
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It remains to be seen where Lingard will be playing his football for the 2021/22 season but it would be hard to argue against former club West Ham being an excellent fit for the now 29-year-old.
He elected to join the Hammers on-loan for the second-half of the 2020/21 campaign having seen opportunities dry up at Old Trafford. He scored nine goals and notched five assists in just 16 Premier League appearances and was expected to make a permanent switch to the London Stadium.
In the end, the Hammers could not agree on a deal and he ended up returning to Man Utd but made just four starts throughout the 2021/22 and joined a whole host of players to leave the club at the end of the season.
Having officially left the club, Lingard penned an emotional goodbye to the club and its supporters. Taking to Twitter, he wrote: “Born and bred a red. Over the last few weeks, I've been emotional about leaving a club that is family. After 22 years I’ve had so many special memories and moments that I will cherish forever.
“@ManUtd will always remain in my heart. A massive thank you. Lots of love Jlingz”
Intriguingly, recent rumours have suggested that Lingard could potentially be on his way to America to link up with former Red Devils teammate Wayne Rooney. The ex-Derby County boss has been appointed as head coach of DC United and is aiming to add to his squad.
