Jesse Lingard suffers dramatic drop in followers after scathing comment from new FC Seoul manager

Jesse Lingard has suffered a drop in followers on social media since comments made by his FC Seoul manager, according to new data.

Lingard signed for the K-League 1 side in February, over seven months on from the expiry of his contract with Nottingham Forest.

The former Manchester United midfielder was described as the biggest signing in the league's history by several media outlets, and FC Seoul broke the K-League attendance record for Lingard's debut.

Thousands of fans queued outside the stadium to buy Lingard merchandise, as excitement for his arrival hit fever pitch.

Two months on, though, and some of that excitement has dampened as the 28-year-old adapts to life in South Korea.

He is yet to make a start for his new club as he builds up match fitness, having played just 89 minutes of football across the entirety of 2023.

And he missed Sunday's 1-1 draw at Gangwon with an apparent knee problem.

On the same day, manager Kim Gi-dong sent a warning to the player, stating: "I've been thinking a lot about removing Jesse.

"I don't think a player who doesn't run for a few minutes is a football player. If he doesn't fit, and doesn't run better than the player who runs for 90 minutes?"

According to data from KingCasinoBonus and SocialBlade, Lingard's Instagram account has seen a drop-off of almost 36,000 followers between March 2 and April 2.

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It isn't clear, though, how many of this figure represents real accounts, or accounts that have been deleted from the platform.

His account had previously gained 59,191 followers in the month of February following his arrival in Seoul.

The former Manchester United midfielder, though, still has 9.4 million followers on the Instagram platform - meaning a 36,000 follower drop probably won't concern him too much.

But he will be desperate to get back to top form on the pitch and help his side to success in the K-League 1 this season.