Ladyman: Lingard has 'NOTHING left to prove' even if his career is fizzling out

Jesse Lingard has nothing left to prove, Ian ladyman has claimed, after the latest development in the ex-Manchester United star's career.

The 31-year-old has sacked his agents in a dramatic twist to try and get his career back on track.

Once a regular for United and England, Lingard was released by Nottingham Forest over the summer and has not found a club since.

Ladyman explained how he feels Lingard is a genuine player who cares deeply about football, but that some athletes are not destined to play into their late 30s and that he hasn't wasted his talent.

'Jesse is lambasted by many people, denigrated by many people. People see him as flash. People see him as not dedicated. People see him as a player who cares about image more than football. And as far as I'm concerned, none of that is true,' Ladyman told It's All Kicking Off.

Ladyman interviewed Lingard on two occasions, including in the autumn of 2019.

He continued: 'I went to meet Jesse in United's training ground, I was asked to come and do an interview with him and was told that he had something he wanted specifically to talk about.

'When I got there, he sat down and told me about problems in his personal life. He told me about his difficulties that his mother was having. His mother was in hospital at the time and Jesse was having to look after his own younger brother and sister, essentially act as parent. He was also a new father himself. He was going to his parents' evening for his brother and his sister.

'And he was struggling. He was really, really struggling and he told me that because he wanted people to know that he had stuff going on. This is why he hadn't been playing to the level he wanted to play at. And he wanted to get it out there and off his chest.

'And I