Jesse Lingard says that he accidentally posted a video from his summer holiday that enraged Manchester United fans and some of the club’s former players.
The United midfielder filmed himself shouting and swearing in his Miami hotel room in July, while also sharing a clip of one of his friends making a lewd gesture and mimicking what may have gone on in the room.
The video briefly appeared on Lingard’s Snapchat account but was later removed.
Both he and his teammate Marcus Rashford, who was also on the holiday, were heavily criticised at the time , but Lingard insists that the video wasn’t meant to be seen publicly.
“It genuinely was a mistake to post it,” he said in a heartfelt interview with the Mail Online in which he also detailed some of his recent struggles due to family trauma.
(Image: Jesse Lingard – Snapchat)
“I have a lot of young followers and I would never put that out there deliberately. It was an accident. I was meaning to send it privately to one of my friends. I was on a plane waiting to take off. Someone from the club texted me and said: ‘Take the video down’.
“When I realised what I had done, my heart just sank into my stomach. I was like, ‘I am done at United now. This is the final straw’.
“I was told the manager was going mad but I was in the air for two hours and literally couldn’t do anything.
(Image: Lynne Cameron/EPA-EFE/REX)
“When I got back I came in early to speak to the manager and apologise. He said I was on my last chance. He said I had to get my head down and that is what I have done. I am not stupid.
“There is no way I was going to let what I have at this club be taken away. On the whole I have cut down on my social media stuff now. You do what you have to do.”
