Jesse Lingard says he is ‘blessed and grateful’ after playing his first game in more than 10 months… despite NIGHTMARE debut for FC Seoul that saw him booed by fans

Jesse Lingard highlighted his joy at returning to the field after making his debut for FC Seoul on Saturday.

Lingard, 31, completed a shock move to the South Korean team last month, signing a two-year contract with the option of a third.

A long period without a club followed after leaving Nottingham Forest at the end of last season, although Mail Sport reported Lingard. received offers from up to 26 teams around the worldincluding FC Seoul and Lazio.

Lingard spent time training with West Ham and Al-Ettifaq, but failed to sign a contract, before moving to the K-League side with the aim of relaunching his career.

And on Saturday, the 32-cap England international made his first appearance for FC Seoul, coming off the bench in the 77th minute during a 2-0 loss to Gwangju.

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His cameo during the final 13 minutes of the clash was Lingard’s first competitive appearance since playing for Nottingham Forest against Man United on April 16 last year, meaning the 31-year-old had been out of action for more than 10 months.

After the game, Lingard posted a series of photos from the game on Instagram and said: “Blessed and grateful to be back on the field doing what I love most.”

However, Lingard endured a nightmare debut. In addition to seeing his team lose, the midfielder was booed by the fans after coming on as a substitute, and thousands of people took out their cell phones to capture the moment.

He was then booked for a flying tackle and given a yellow card, prompting a furious reaction from the opposition, with the former Man United star unable to prevent his team from slipping to defeat.

At a press conference after joining last month, Lingard said: “I’m very excited.” It’s a new challenge. I’ve accepted it, I’m here and I’m ready to embrace the culture. It’s a new beginning for me, a new chapter in my career.

“I just want to enjoy playing football again, make people smile and show the Korean fans what I can do.”

He added: “When FC Seoul came into the equation, the commitment they showed, they came to Manchester to watch me train.”

“They came with the contract on paper, so I think the commitment shown by the club is really in my mind. I had already decided where I wanted to go because, as I say, there were multiple offers, they were all verbal offers, but “The commitment shown by “FC Seoul showed how much interest and how much they wanted me at the club, so it was only right for me to return that and come to the club.”

After joining his new team, Lingard had improved his fitness in several pre-season games, while showing that he is still fit with some impressive goals in training.

FC Seoul have won the K League six times, although they finished seventh in the top flight last season.

They will return to action on March 10 against Incheon as Lingard prepares for his first home game with his new team.