Jesse Lingard was in the party mood on Saturday night after FC Seoul ended the K League 1 season by winning 3-1 away at Gimcheon Sangmu FC.
Seoul finished their campaign in fourth place, 14 points behind champions Ulsan.
Lingard was thrilled and he wrote on Instagram: ‘Top 4. What an amazing feeling, thank you to the fans, staff, and players for making me feel welcome from the start, it’s been a long season but we showed just how good we can be.’
Former Manchester United star Lingard, who joined Seoul on a two-year contract in February following spells with West Ham and Nottingham Forest, also shared multiple videos of himself dancing.
Lingard bust out several moves, including a mimed version of a golf swing, as he and his team-mates celebrated in front of their traveling fans after rubber-stamping qualification for the 2025-26 edition of the AFC Champions League Elite. The 31-year-old had earlier performed a celebratory jig during the match too.
He was not the only member of the Seoul squad to throw some shapes after Saturday’s game. Multiple players took it in turns to show off their dance moves in front of the away fans at the Gimcheon Stadium.
Jesse Lingard was in a celebratory mood on Sunday after FC Seoul secured a top-four finish
Lingard, 31, danced in front of Seoul’s away fans following a 3-1 win at Gimcheon Sangmu FC
Seoul’s players took it in turns to perform a short individual dance routine after Saturday’s win
He provided an assist for the game’s opening goal late in the first half when his whipped corner kick was headed home by Cho Young-wook.
Lingard had been without a club for more than six months when he joined Seoul on a free transfer in February.
He recently said that his break from football had been linked to his grandmother falling ill before passing away in November last year.
‘Behind every footballer there’s a story the public aren’t aware of and I’d like you to know mine,’ he wrote in a column with The Times. ‘It might explain how I got here — and help other players dealing with private strife.
‘The only cure was rest [for injury] but, in the summer, when I was out of contract, my nan got ill. She was an amazing woman — Pamela Lingard — and she and my grandad brought me up while, for long parts of my childhood, my mum battled depression.
‘But over the course of last summer, she became really poorly. She was in and out of hospital and though I was training hard and missed being at a club, it felt like being out of contract was God’s plan: I’m not going to give you a team right now, you need to stay home and be with your family.
‘So that’s what I did. I spent as much time as I could with them and in November, when nan passed away, grandad took it really hard. He was depressed and suffering dizzy spells and was hospitalised himself. He needed looking after too, and there was the funeral to organise and a speech to give.
‘I believe things happen for a reason and that, while my family was suffering, it was just written for me to take a break from playing. However, after Christmas last year it was time to start my comeback.’
Former Manchester United star Lingard joined Seoul on a free transfer back in February
Lingard pictured performing a special handshake with Seoul goalkeeper Kang Hyeon-mu
Lingard made 182 Premier League appearances, scoring 29 goals and delivering 14 assists, before moving to Asia.
He made 149 of those appearances in the colours of Man United.
Lingard won four trophies during his time in the first team at Old Trafford, including the UEFA Europa League in 2017.
He has not represented England since 2021 but he has been capped 32 times at senior international level and he was part of Gareth Southgate’s side at the 2018 World Cup.
Lingard has scored six goals for the Three Lions, with his most memorable coming in a record-breaking 6-1 win over Panama.
