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Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has left a brutal comment on an Instagram post showing Jesse Lingard going through the motions in the gym. Former Red Devils midfielder Lingard still hasn't found a new club since leaving Nottingham Forest when his contract expired at the end of last season.
Lingard's 22-year association with United drew to a close 18 months ago, when he left his boyhood club on a free transfer. The 31-year-old moved straight to Forest but the move fell flat and he was offloaded after 17 goalless Premier League appearances.
A spell training with Steven Gerrard's Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq last year failed to result in a concrete offer. Lingard's wage demands were rumoured to be an issue, having picked up a whopping £100,000 a week while at the City Ground.
The former England man is seemingly keeping himself in top shape until the next opportunity arises, with an Instagram post showing him rowing and doing one-handed push-ups in a high-end gym.
But Scholes wasn't impressed, commenting: "Are you just gonna f*** about in the gym or are you gonna actually play football?"
Scholes was at the peak of his powers while Lingard made his way through United's esteemed academy. The passing maestro came out of retirement to play another season for the Red Devils in 2012/13, at the same time Lingard was making his senior breakthrough on loan at Leicester City.
Keen to reboot his career at the age of 31, Lingard scored 35 goals in 232 first-team appearances for United, but he struggled to cement a spot in the starting XI on a long-term basis.
His best football came on loan at West Ham during the second half of the 2020/21 season, where he scored nine goals in 16 matches to help send the Hammers to Europe. Despite interest in making the move permanent, Lingard opted against the switch in favour of having another crack at United.
Reports in Spain indicate that Lingard recently offered his services to Barcelona. The Catalans' dicey financial situation means they have had to scour the market for bargain transfer opportunities in recent years.
Lingard has been conducting individual training sessions since the start of the campaign, with one Instagram caption reading: "Even the hardest days will eventually pass. We only do positive."
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