Jesse Lingard had his nickname ‘J Lingz’ on the back of his shirt for Corinthians’ Copa do Brasil win over Barra on Thursday.
Former Man United star Lingard, 33, joined the South American giants in March after leaving FC Seoul in South Korea at the end of 2025.
The attacking midfielder spent nearly two years in Asia and moved to Corinthians despite attracting interest from a number of clubs, including West Ham and Wolves.
It has been a mixed start for Lingard in Brazil, with Corinthians – who also have Lingard’s former United team-mate Memphis Depay among their ranks – 16th in the league after 15 games, although they have won three of their first four matches in the Copa Libertadores.
Lingard has been eased into action, but is becoming increasingly important, and he started their second leg cup tie against third tier Barra last night, with Corinthians winning 1-0 to progress 2-0 on aggregate after the 33-year-old had scored the decisive goal in the first leg.
However, some British fans were left confused when they saw Lingard’s usual No 77 shirt have ‘J Lingz’ rather than Lingard on the back, but there was a reason behind it.
Jesse Lingard had ‘J Lingz’ on the back of his shirt for Corinthians on Thursday evening
Lingard used his nickname as part of an initiative at the club for Generic Drug Day in Brazil
All of Corinthians’ players had their nicknames on the back of their shirts as part of an initiative related to Generic Drug Day in Brazil.
In the country, this is to do with May 20, 1999, when the Brazilian Ministry of Health enacted the Generic Drug Act, which revolutionised the country’s healthcare system by helping high-quality medication become more affordable and accessible.
In a social media post showing the adapted shirts, Corinthians added: ‘In honour of Generic Drug Day, celebrated on May 20th, Hypera decided to highlight the importance of these medications in public health, and the #TimeDoPovo (People’s Team) is included to show that the name may be different, but it has the same effect for everyone!’
Meanwhile, Lingard scored his first goal for Corinthians in the first leg of the tie with Barra last month when he finished emphatically on the volley after Pedro Raul headed the ball across goal to him from a deflected free-kick.
His strike was greeted by huge cheers, despite Corinthians playing away from home – and Lingard celebrated with typical panache.
Lingard’s goal also made him the first British player to score in the Copa do Brasil and Corinthians held on for the 1-0 victory to give them a slender lead ahead of last night’s second leg.
Lingard signed an initial deal until the end of the year when he joined Corinthians, with a further 12 months to be triggered if certain objectives are met.
‘First, I saw the fans at the airport saying “Go, Corinthians! Go, Corinthians!”,’ Lingard told the club upon completing his move. ‘There is a lot of passion from the fans, which is wonderful to see.
‘The players welcomed me with open arms, the coach, the director, it was great to meet them. My first impressions: very happy, I can’t wait to play.’
Lingard, who made 232 appearances for United and amassed 32 caps for England prior to 2022, finished his last season with Seoul having scored 13 goals in 41 appearances.
He made his final appearance for the club on December 10, scoring in a 1–1 draw against Melbourne City in the league stage of the AFC Champions League Elite.
Lingard’s time in his homeland came to an end in 2023 when he left Nottingham Forest after a year with the club.
And though he played a key role in England’s run to the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2018, he has not played for his country since 2021.
