Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick has defended his decision not to give Jesse Lingard an Old Trafford farewell in the final home game of the season. During his Friday press conference, Rangnick responded to criticism from Lingard's brother.
Jesse Lingard’s brother Louie criticised the way his brother has been treated by the club after Lingard was an unused substitute in Manchester United’s 3-0 victory over Brentford on Monday night.
Ralf Rangnick responds to Jesse Lingard controversy
The Brentford game would have been his final game at Old Trafford, as Lingard’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season. While Juan Mata and Nemanja Matic were given send offs by the home crowd, Lingard didn’t get that opportunity.
Edinson Cavani, whose last previous league appearance for Manchester United came in March against Spurs, was chosen as the third and final substitute ahead of Lingard.
Following the game, Lingard's brother Louie made a statement on Instagram, criticising the club for not giving him one final appearance at Old Trafford.
🗣: “20 years of blood, sweat and tears, 4 domestic trophies, 3 cup final goals. Not even a farewell.”
Jesse Lingards brother on Instagram #MUFC pic.twitter.com/FrbhGENJmw— United Zone (@ManUnitedZone_) May 3, 2022
Speaking in his Friday press conference ahead of United's game against Brighton on Saturday, manager Ralf Rangnick defended his decision to leave Lingard without any game time on Monday.
He suggested that the same criticism would have come if he had not given Edinson Cavani an Old Trafford farewell, and explained that Lingard's lack of training time was another factor in his decision.
In the last couple of weeks under my tenure, he has played far more games than he used to. Secondly, on game day against Chelsea, he asked me to release him from the game and training the following day for personal family reasons.
And this was the reason. With only three substitutes, I had to take a decision between Edinson Cavani and Jesse Lingard, or the young [Alejandro Garnacho], who I would have loved to have brought on and given a chance to play.
I took the decision to bring on Edinson. Had I not brought on Edinson someone else might have asked if it's classless not to bring on Cavani or Garnacho. You have to take a decision and this will not be to the liking of everybody, and this is part of the game.
It is a bitter end to Lingard's time at Old Trafford. Once a fan favourite at the club, first team opportunities have been difficult to come by over the past couple of seasons for the England international.
Having spent 20 years at the club, Lingard has made 232 appearances for Manchester United, scoring 32 goals.
After excelling on a loan spell for West Ham during the second half of last season, it was expected that the 29-year-old would move from Old Trafford. However, a transfer failed to materialise in January.
This season, he has made 22 appearances across all competitions for Ralf Rangnick’s side, although majority of them have come from the bench. This came despite the poor form of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, who is now on loan at Sevilla.
It’s widely expected that Manchester United will require a huge overhaul this summer, with Jesse Lingard among a number of players considered not part of Ric Tan Hag’s plans for the future.
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