Jesse Lingard reveals Wayne Rooney imposed strict rule in Manchester United dressing room
Wayne Rooney ordered the Manchester United academy players not to buy an expensive car until they had played 50 games for the first team. That is according to Jesse Lingard, who has opened up on his time at Manchester United. Lingard revealed Rooney’s strict rule for the United academy playersGetty Images - Getty Lingard joined the Red Devils at the age of seven and was handed his debut in 2014 by Louis van Gaal. The 32-year-old left Old Trafford in 2022, after playing 232 games for the club, and currently plays for FC Seoul. Accusations were levied at Lingard, as well as teammates Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford, that they had a hand in destroying the culture at Old Trafford. However, Lingard refuted those claims and recounted how players like Rooney kept them grounded. Lingard told The Mail: “With us being in the first team, you know, it’s obviously knowing the right place, the right time to do things and stuff like that. “But ruining culture? We only tried to make it stronger. We responded to success and we smiled and laughed and we were winning games. So that is good culture, yeah? “Wayne Rooney told me: ‘Don’t buy your first car until you’ve played 50 games.’ “Obviously, 50 games came and I drove in a Range Rover, parked up and Rooney was like: ‘Whose is that? Have you played 50 games now?’ “And that was me accepted. I have never tried to be flash. Of course, if you have nice things sometimes you wanna show them. “But the photographers would follow me and take pictures of me in my car every time we drove in.” Lingard headed to the K-League after leaving EnglandGetty Lingard also believes that his time at United was not a failure. As well as playing more than 200 times, he won the FA Cup, League Cup, and Europa League at the club. He added: “I 100 per cent do not feel failure, I feel achievement. You just gotta look at my story from seven years old, a kid from Warrington making it all the way through. “The percentages of that are like 0.2 per cent or something. I got chosen. “You have to work hard. Go to digs and leave your family at 12 years old and move schools and be in a different environment. “And I was the smallest. I was tiny. Sometimes I had to play down a year. So I’ve been through the mill, from a football point of view.” Jesse Lingard's Man United career Games – 232 Goals – 35 Assists – 20 Trophies – 3
Wayne Rooney ordered the Manchester United academy players not to buy an expensive car until they had played 50 games for the first team.
That is according to Jesse Lingard, who has opened up on his time at Manchester United.
Lingard joined the Red Devils at the age of seven and was handed his debut in 2014 by Louis van Gaal.
The 32-year-old left Old Trafford in 2022, after playing 232 games for the club, and currently plays for FC Seoul.
Accusations were levied at Lingard, as well as teammates Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford, that they had a hand in destroying the culture at Old Trafford.
However, Lingard refuted those claims and recounted how players like Rooney kept them grounded.
Lingard told The Mail: “With us being in the first team, you know, it’s obviously knowing the right place, the right time to do things and stuff like that.
“But ruining culture? We only tried to make it stronger. We responded to success and we smiled and laughed and we were winning games. So that is good culture, yeah?
“Wayne Rooney told me: ‘Don’t buy your first car until you’ve played 50 games.’
“Obviously, 50 games came and I drove in a Range Rover, parked up and Rooney was like: ‘Whose is that? Have you played 50 games now?’
“And that was me accepted. I have never tried to be flash. Of course, if you have nice things sometimes you wanna show them.
“But the photographers would follow me and take pictures of me in my car every time we drove in.”
Lingard also believes that his time at United was not a failure. As well as playing more than 200 times, he won the FA Cup, League Cup, and Europa League at the club.
He added: “I 100 per cent do not feel failure, I feel achievement. You just gotta look at my story from seven years old, a kid from Warrington making it all the way through.
“The percentages of that are like 0.2 per cent or something. I got chosen.
“You have to work hard. Go to digs and leave your family at 12 years old and move schools and be in a different environment.
“And I was the smallest. I was tiny. Sometimes I had to play down a year. So I’ve been through the mill, from a football point of view.”
Jesse Lingard's Man United career
Games – 232
Goals – 35
Assists – 20
Trophies – 3
