FC Seoul announced the recruitment of Lingard in a press release on Tuesday. "As a leading K-League club, FC Seoul has been taking the lead in recruiting big names that are armed with skills and popularity, and has been making impressive attempts to lead not only the success of the K-League but also the development of Korean soccer," the club said. "The recruitment was also made in a surprise move as both FC Seoul and Lingard's future vision and goals matched," explaining why Lingard was recruited.

It will become big news in the K-League," FC Seoul said. "The recruitment of Lingard is big news in the Korean soccer community. He is from Manchester United, one of the most renowned soccer players in the world, and has played in the English professional soccer league for 13 years since his debut as a professional soccer player. He was selected as a member of the England national team and also has valuable experience in leading his country to the semifinals at the 2018 World Cup in Russia," FC Seoul said. "As it is a challenge for the K-League by a player with the best name value in the 41-year history of the K-League, the news is enough to catch the eyes and ears of Korean soccer fans."

As FC Seoul explained, the recruitment of Lingard was a big issue even before the official announcement was made. On the 2nd, after the closing of the European football transfer market, a number of leading media outlets such as Sky Sports, BBC, and The Athletic in England, Ben Jacobs of CBS Sports in the U.S., and Fabrizio Romano, an expert on the European football transfer market, said that Lingard is heading to FC Seoul.

Lingard arrived in Incheon International Airport on the afternoon of the 5th. When Lingard, wearing a black hood and a cap, came to the airport, some 200 fans who were waiting for Lingard shouted his name and greeted him. Lingard looked tired due to a long flight, but he replied with a greeting and a smile.

The fan service was excellent as well. Lingard seemed embarrassed for a while, but he approached some fans, signed their uniforms, and took pictures with them. Afterwards, he left the airport led by team members.

The news that Lingard will join the K-League club shook not only domestic soccer fans but also overseas soccer fans. Most of the soccer community said that they could not believe Lingard was coming to Korea. Some predicted that the recruitment of Lingard itself would have the effect of promoting FC Seoul and the K-League.

There were good reasons. Lingard is a famous player not only in Korea but also overseas.

When Lingard was in his prime, he also played for England. Lingard made his A-media debut in 2016 after being selected for the England national team for the first time, and participated in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia with the England national team, scoring one goal and two assists, contributing to England's advance to the semifinals.

Lingard has played in nearly 200 matches in the Premier League, the world's top soccer league. He was a former Manchester United youth player, a prestigious club in England, and spent most of his career with Manchester United, and played for West Ham United and Nottingham Forest.

In his time at Manchester United, he went back and forth between the main player and the bench. Lingard was also expected to grow because Manchester United had consistently produced good side resources, but he was pushed to the bench when he did not grow as much as expected. Lingard, who needed time to play, chose to loan at West Ham and led the team's attack by exploding his talent at West Ham.

Lingard's performance, which seemed to have been revived, has also changed. Lingard did not sign a contract with Manchester United because he thought it would be difficult to continue his life at Manchester United, but he became a free agent and headed to Nottingham. Nottingham recruited Lingard by promising him the highest weekly wage, but Lingard, who had promised to make a comeback in the wake of his West Ham days, failed to recover his performance.

After his contract with Nottingham ended, Lingard could not find a new team. Although he was an FA, his high salary made it difficult for clubs to approach Lingard. While prestigious European clubs or Saudi Arabian clubs connected with Lingard, Lingard remained as FA. Then, FC Seoul was connected with the club. The fact that a striker who played for the Manchester United and England national teams would wear K-League team uniforms was a hot topic in itself.

In fact, it is known that as many as 26 teams expressed interest in Lingard at the end. Nevertheless, there was a reason why Lingard chose Seoul after rejecting offers from European teams.

Lingard told a news conference on joining the club on Sunday, "I received offers from so many clubs in summer. However, while other clubs only made verbal offers to me, FC Seoul showed enthusiasm by coming to Manchester with documents to check my physical condition. At that moment, I already decided to transfer to FC Seoul. I did not consider any other clubs at all," adding that he chose to go to FC Seoul because he was moved by FC Seoul's efforts.

FC Seoul wanted Lingard, too. "As a leading K-League team, we have been taking the lead in recruiting big names, which are full of skills and popularity, and have made impressive attempts to lead not only the success of the K-League but also the development of Korean soccer," FC Seoul said. "The recruitment was also made in a surprise move as both FC Seoul and Lingard's vision and goals matched."

Lingard is already promoting the K-League. As Lingard is also a famous player in the U.K., British media are naturally showing interest in Lingard and the K-League.

Simon Stone of the British public broadcaster BBC said, "Lyngaard can become Korea's top sports star. FC Seoul advanced to the final of the 2013 Asian Champions League (ACL) when Lingard toured Japan and Hong Kong with Manchester United under David Moyes. Currently, Ulsan HD and Jeonbuk Hyundai are leading K-League clubs. FC Seoul took the last 7th place," explaining the recent trend of the K-League with Lingard's club FC Seoul.

He also mentioned that Korean and English football have been connected for quite a long time.

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