K League 1 pro soccer player Kim Jin-su of FC Seoul revealed the behind-the-scenes story of the special gift he gave Lingard, who just played his farewell match.

This match served as the farewell game for Lingard, who had joined Seoul last year on a '2+1 year contract.' Lingard, a former player for the prestigious EPL club Manchester United and the English national team, made a shock move to Korea last February.

Lingard recorded 16 goals and 7 assists across 60 league games over two seasons (26 games, 6 goals, 3 assists in 2024; 34 games, 10 goals, 4 assists in 2025). Starting as the main striker that day, Lingard capped off his successful farewell game by scoring the opening goal.

After the match, Vice-Captain Kim Jin-su spoke about Captain Lingard, who is leaving after the Melbourne game: "Actually, I had a gift I wanted to give him before the match, so we met up separately at the hotel. We cried while talking. He's such a good person and full of positive energy, so I'm really grateful. We promised to root for each other wherever we end up, which made for a nice finish."

Kim Jin-su added, "I wanted to give him something memorable, so I took a South Korean national team jersey, embroidered 'Lingard' and the number 10 in Hangeul, and wrote a personal message on it before handing it over."

Lingard and Kim Jin-su also appeared together on the MBC reality show 'I Live Alone' last month. Kim Jin-su laughed, "He suddenly called me the day before and asked if we could eat together on the show, so I said sure. We just went out and ate—that was it. He talked more about my daughter than me, but hey, thanks to Lingard, I got to be on TV, and I'm really thankful for that."

Kim Jin-su, who called Lingard a 'new type of captain,' explained, "He must have had a lot of difficulties both linguistically and culturally. Since I've lived abroad too, I tried hard to help him as much as possible. I never questioned any of Lingard's decisions. I figured since he was the captain, whether I liked it or not, I had to follow. He always tried to lead the team with a smile, and his refusal to lose is something we rarely see here in Korea. I thought that was a new form of leadership."

https://m.sports.naver.com/kfootball/article/003/0013651115