Jesse Lingard hails Corinthians move, backs Michael Carrick for United job

Jesse Lingard has found a new stage in São Paulo, and a new way to reset a career that has already crossed England and Korea. The 33-year-old joined Corinthians for the rest of the season, signing until December after leaving FC Seoul when his contract expired at the end of 2025. Once a reported target for MLS clubs, Lingard instead chose Brazil and the No. 77 shirt, in a move that has already made him the first Englishman to sign for a Brazilian club.

His first impression of Corinthians was simple and emphatic: “magical.” Lingard praised the club’s facilities, the welcome from coach Dorival Júnior and chief executive Marcelo Paz, and the noise from supporters who greeted him at the airport. He said he had visited the club museum and understood how large and historic Corinthians are, adding that he wanted to “leave my mark” and win trophies there. Memphis Depay, his former Manchester United teammate, helped sell him on the move by describing the club and its fans, and Lingard expected to link up with him again in attack.

The timing mattered as much as the symbolism. Corinthians had seven points from their opening four Brazilian Serie A matches when Lingard arrived, and his signing came after a run that underlined both the club’s ambition and the pressure to finish strongly. Lingard is only the second British-born player to represent Corinthians after Colin Kazim-Richards, and he later added another layer to the story by scoring his first goal for the club, reportedly becoming the first British player to score in the Copa do Brasil.

Lingard’s Brazil chapter also speaks to a broader shift in the late-career map for European names who might once have been expected to drift toward MLS or Saudi Arabia. Corinthians offered something different: a heavy shirt, a demanding crowd and a club with continental history. For a player who has spent much of his career under the glare of Premier League scrutiny, the move has become a bid for reinvention as much as employment.

That personal reset has also taken Lingard back to Manchester United, where he backed Michael Carrick for the manager’s job. Carrick is United’s interim head coach until the end of the 2025-26 season after taking charge on 13 January 2026, and his spell has already fueled debate over whether he should stay on permanently. Carrick previously served as caretaker manager in November 2021, beating Villarreal and Arsenal and drawing with Chelsea, and Lingard had already tipped him for management as far back as 2018. In a club still searching for stability, that old endorsement now feels newly relevant.