Jesse Lingard slams the state of Manchester United, claims they're behind all their rivals

Jesse Lingard has slammed his former club Manchester United, and backed one of the criticisms Cristiano Ronaldo had as he left the club.

Lingard left United last summer, after a few tough years at Old Trafford that left him out of the team for much of his final spell at the club.

Perhaps the lowest moment for the midfielder came when he wasn't given the chance at one last farewell to the fans that he'd played in front of many times over his 11 years at the club.

The 30-year-old wasn't brought on by Ralf Rangnick in the final home game of the season, whilst Edinson Cavani was brought on for around of applause.

He was eventually given the chance to get the ovation he deserved from the crowd last month, when he played for Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford.

There's no doubt that he's a much better loved former United player than former teammate Ronaldo, who left in much more different circumstances last year.

The forward slagged off a lot of things at the club, especially the manager and his then teammates, which caused plenty of criticism from fans.

However, Ronaldo also criticised the owners, saying that they'd turned United into a 'marketing club' and said they were behind their top six rivals when it came to how the club was run.

Now Lingard has backed that revelation, saying the facilities aren't good enough at United and they are behind other clubs.

"They're so behind on everything," the Forest star told The Diary of a CEO Podcast.

"You see City's facilities, Tottenham's facilities... people are miles ahead. Even the social side of things."

Lingard applauds the fans after leaving the game for Forest. Image: Alamy

On the club's social media output he added, "I went to them in 2017 about YouTube and doing content - I just wanted them to get up to date with everything and the new things that are happening.

"You have to be relevant and stay relevant."

And he continued with the criticism, saying there was no control at the club, stating, "There was no control. When Ferguson was there, it was full control. A fortress - everything went through him. Contracts, commercial deals, everything.

"Of course, generations change, players grow up and people have a voice. When things are getting said about you that are not true, you are going to voice your opinion.

"It wouldn't have happened back in the day - it would have been squashed there and then with Sir Alex. But now, people have got platforms to voice their own opinion and write what they want."

Erik ten Hag has certainly showed that he's got more control of what happens at the club in recent months, dealing with the Ronaldo situation perfectly.

Even Marcus Rashford didn't get a pass when he arrived for a team meeting late, getting dropped by the manager but was soon brought back into the first team and his form has continued to improve.