Manchester United Youth career Having played for
Fletcher Moss Rangers and Penketh United as a youngster, Lingard joined Manchester United's youth academy at the age of seven and progressed through the age groups. He was part of the Manchester United team that won the
2010–11 FA Youth Cup, before signing a professional contract in July 2011. After moving up to the reserves/under 21s, Lingard won back-to-back championships with the club in
2011–12 and
2012–13 He also won the
Manchester Senior Cup and
Lancashire Senior Cup with the team.
2011–12 season Lingard was first included in a senior matchday squad on 30 November 2011, in the
League Cup quarter-finals against
Crystal Palace at
Old Trafford, remaining unused as the team lost 2–1 after extra time. He had his only other call-up of the season on 4 January 2012, again unused in a 3–0 away
Premier League loss to
Newcastle United.
2012–13 season: Loan to Leicester City pre-season friendlies in 2012 On 6 November 2012, Lingard and teammate
Michael Keane joined
Leicester City on
loan for a month. He made his competitive debut later that day, in a 0–0
Championship draw away to
Bolton Wanderers, coming on as a substitute for
Martyn Waghorn in the 85th minute. His loan was later extended to 2 January 2013, and he totalled five appearances for the Foxes.
2013–14 season Lingard was selected in the 19-man squad for Manchester United's 2013 pre-season tour. He scored his first two goals for United in a 5–1 friendly win against the A-League All Stars in Sydney on 20 July, the first of which was the club's first goal under new manager
David Moyes. After the match, he said "I believe in myself but I have to start believing in myself more". He also scored against
Yokohama F. Marinos and
Kitchee SC to finish the tour as top scorer with four goals in as many matches. Although he had hoped to "skip the loan stage this time and break straight through" at Manchester United, and went straight into the starting eleven for the Championship match against
Sheffield Wednesday at
St Andrew's two days later. He opened the scoring after 20 minutes with his first goal in senior football when goalkeeper
Chris Kirkland parried
Chris Burke's shot, completed his
hat-trick 13 minutes later, and scored a fourth in the second half to secure a 4–1 win. Lingard was unavailable for Birmingham's League Cup third-round tie because Manchester United did not want him
cup-tied, then in his third league match, he made up for missing a penalty, awarded when he was fouled apparently outside the area, with an 89th-minute header to complete a 4–0 defeat of
Millwall. Agreement was reached to extend Lingard's loan until 14 December, but he then missed three matches while receiving treatment at Manchester United for a knee injury. The loan was further extended, to 1 January 2014, but Lingard was suspended for the last two matches of the spell. He was sent off during a match against
Wigan Athletic on 26 December for a lunge on
Jordi Gómez immediately after being refused a free kick when he appeared to be fouled. Although Birmingham hoped to extend the loan, On 27 February 2014, Lingard joined another Championship club,
Brighton & Hove Albion, on a 93-day loan. He scored his first goal for the club on 8 April, in a 4–1 win against former club Leicester City, who had sealed promotion to the Premier League days earlier. While with Albion, Lingard played 17 times, including in the
Championship play-offs, and scored 4 goals.
2014–15 season On 4 August 2014, Lingard came off the bench to score the third goal in United's 3–1
International Champions Cup Final win over
Liverpool. He made his competitive debut for the club in the first match of the
2014–15 Premier League season at home to Swansea City, starting the match but was replaced by
Adnan Januzaj because of injury after 24 minutes. Swansea won 2–1 in
Louis van Gaal's first competitive match as United manager. On 2 February 2015, Lingard joined Championship club
Derby County on loan until the end of the season. He made his first start on 14 February, against
Reading in the
FA Cup.
2015–16 season in 2015 On 7 November 2015, Lingard scored his first senior goal for Manchester United in a 2–0 win against
West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford, opening the scoring with a shot past
Boaz Myhill from outside the penalty area. On 12 January 2016, he scored against Newcastle United in a 3–3 draw at
St James' Park, with a finish that went between the legs of the goalkeeper after a reverse assist from
Wayne Rooney. He added his third goal of the season on 2 February against Stoke City in a 3–0 victory with a closer range diving header from a cross by
Cameron Borthwick-Jackson. On 7 February 2016, Lingard scored his fourth goal of the season in a 1–1 draw against
Chelsea at
Stamford Bridge, breaking the deadlock with a spin and shot inside the penalty area. On 21 May 2016, Lingard scored the winning goal for Manchester United in the
2016 FA Cup Final against Crystal Palace, having come on as a second-half substitute for other goalscorer
Juan Mata.
2016–17 season Lingard scored the opening goal as Manchester United beat Premier League champions Leicester City 2–1 to win the
2016 FA Community Shield. He scored another important goal in February 2017, this time United's second of a 3–2 win over
Southampton in the
2017 EFL Cup Final. On 6 April 2017, Lingard signed a new contract with Manchester United, of four years with an option for a fifth.
2018–19 season On 5 December 2018, Lingard scored his first domestic goal of the season in a 2–2 draw against
Arsenal. Two weeks later, in the
North West derby, Lingard scored his second of the season in a 3–1 loss to Liverpool. During United's first game under new interim manager
Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Lingard doubled his season's tally, scoring a penalty and a goal from open play in United's 5–1 win over
Cardiff City, in addition to an assist for
Anthony Martial. On 25 January 2019, Lingard scored the second goal in a 3–1 win over Arsenal in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
2019–20 season On 26 July 2020, Lingard scored his first goal in the final matchday of Premier League; his first since December 2018 in the 98th minute to seal a 2–0 win at Leicester City. His goal secured qualification for the
2020–21 UEFA Champions League and was the final goal of the
2019–20 Premier League season.
2020–21 season: Loan to West Ham United in 2021 On 29 January 2021, Lingard joined
West Ham United on loan until the end of the season, where he reunited with former Manchester United boss David Moyes. On his debut on 3 February 2021, Lingard scored two goals against
Aston Villa as West Ham won 3–1. In a match against
Wolves on 5 April, Lingard carried the ball 52 metres before firing past
Rui Patrício, the furthest a player had travelled with the ball before scoring in the Premier League during the season. Lingard continued his good form during his loan spell, contributing nine goals and four assists in his first 10 Premier League games for West Ham. For his goal performances in April and for his goal against Wolves, Lingard won both the
Premier League Player of the Month and the
Premier League Goal of the Month.
2021–22 season On 11 September 2021, Lingard scored the fourth goal for Manchester United in a 4–1 win over
Newcastle. On 19 September, Lingard scored an 89th minute winner in 2–1 defeat of West Ham. On 1 June 2022,
Manchester United announced that Lingard would leave the club following the expiration of his contract.
Nottingham Forest On 21 July 2022, Lingard signed for newly promoted Premier League club
Nottingham Forest on a one-year contract, becoming their highest-paid player for the 2022–23 season. Lingard and five other senior players were released when their contracts expired at the end of the season.
FC Seoul On 7 February 2024, Lingard signed a two-year contract with South Korean
K League club
FC Seoul. The signing of Lingard by FC Seoul was described by South Korean football journalist Lee Sungmo as, "the biggest signing in the K League's history". After a 2–0 victory against
Jeju United FC on 16 March, Lingard was publicly criticised by FC Seoul's head coach,
Kim Gi-dong, citing a lack of effort and physicality. Lingard appeared for 105 minutes during FC Seoul's first six games of the season, before undergoing knee surgery. Lingard scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 home win against
Gangwon FC on 26 June, kicking the ball into the corner from the penalty spot. In January 2025, he was named club captain ahead of the 2025 season. On 5 December 2025, Lingard and FC Seoul agreed to terminate his contract after two years. He made his final appearance for the club on 10 December, scoring in a 1–1 draw against
Melbourne City in the league stage of the
AFC Champions League Elite.
Corinthians On 6 March 2026, Lingard signed a one-year contract with Brazilian club
Corinthians. On 21 April 2026, he became the first British player to score a goal in the
Copa do Brasil. ==International career==