Simon Jordan accuses Jesse Lingard of being the "architect of his own downfall"

Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan has claimed that Manchester United forward Jesse Lingard has not done enough to warrant a farewell from Old Trafford. The player, whose current contract expires in June, was not brought on during United’s final home game of the season on Monday night (2 May).

Lingard was an unused substitute in Manchester United’s 3-0 win over Brentford in the Premier League. By benching Lingard, Ralf Rangnick denied him the opportunity to receive a farewell from the home fans, something Juan Mata and Nemanja Matic received.

In the aftermath of the match, the Englishman’s brother put up an Instagram post, slamming the club for overlooking the academy graduate’s sacrifices.

Jordan, however, was not moved by his post and stated that Lingard’s contributions did not warrant a massive farewell. Speaking to talkSPORT, he said:

“His brother’s entitled to put out what he wants, and we can lift it and turn into something more than it is if we wanted to. The bottom line is, if you actually read it, it is indicative of how people perceive the sacrifices and the suffering footballers have to go through.”

Jordan added:

“Suffering and sacrifices is what people do in the real world, in football you get to prosper, be awarded and recognised and eulogised and revered. Jesse Lingard is the architect of his own downfall. He has reaped precisely what he has sown, and it’s not just with Ralf Rangnick, it was with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer too.”

The 29-year-old has only featured in 16 Premier League games for Manchester United this season, scoring twice.

Manchester United have not contributed to Jesse Lingard’s poor form

Lingard registered nine goals and five assists in 16 Premier League games during his loan spell at West Ham United in the second half of the 2020-21 campaign. Instead of blaming United for Lingard’s dip in performance, Jordan chalked it down to a temporary spurt of excellence.

Likening Lingard to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the 53-year-old said that they would “revert to type” after a short spell of brilliance. Aubameyang, who joined Barcelona from Arsenal on a free transfer in January, has scored 11 goals in 19 games across competitions for hisnew employers.

Jordan said in this regard:

“We can all go somewhere for five minutes. [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang has been at Barcelona for five minutes, and he will revert to type. We all knew he would do that for five minutes and when he comes back down to reality and not proving the point, he’ll be back being late to training and doing precisely what he wants.”

He continued:

“Now, Jesse Lingard is in the situation where he could have left Manchester United whenever he wanted, it’s only his performances that have dictated him not being in the side. There’s no witch hunt.”

West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with signing Lingard on a free transfer in the summer (as per Football London).

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