Jesse Lingard will not be joining Al-Ettifaq as his wage demands are reportedly too high for the mega-rich Saudi side.
The former Manchester United star has been training with the Saudi Pro League club, who are managed by Steven Gerrard, for a few weeks in the hopes of signing for the team in January. Al-Ettifaq were keen to snap him, but reporter Ben Jacobs says they have now walked away from negotiations due to Lingard's insistence on a lucrative contract.
Reports in August claimed the 30-year-old wanted £7million-a-year, which equates to around £130,000-a-week. That figure is considerably lower than the reported £700k-a-week Al-Ettifaq are paying Jordan Henderson, but it appears the club are nonetheless unwilling to sign off on it.
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The fiasco leaves Lingard somewhat stuck in the mud. He hasn't played a game since getting a two-minute run-out for Nottingham Forest against old club United back in April and hasn't played regular week-in-week-out football since December. He trained with West Ham for several weeks at the start of the new season – having enjoyed a productive spell there on loan two years ago – but didn't earn a contract.
Fans on social media labelled him "an idiot" for pricing himself out of a move to Al-Ettifaq, with one user insisting: "Beggars can't be choosers." Another joked: "If a Saudi Arabian team is telling you your wage demands are too high, they're probably too high."
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Others savagely urged him to retire. One said: "Just give up Lingard, if Saudi Arabia doesn't want you it's time to retire." Another added: "It's time to hang it up, brother."
It's understood that both Henderson and team-mate Georginio Wijnaldum were pushing the club to tie Lingard down to a deal after being impressed by the ex-England man in training. Similarly, Gerrard was eager to bring him on board to add a little attacking impetus to his team.
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Al-Ettifaq started the season brightly but have dropped to seventh in the Saudi Pro League table after two defeats and a draw in their last three matches. Pressure on Gerrard is ever so slightly beginning to mount, with fans concerned about his lack of managerial experience.
Following Sunday's defeat to Al-Riyadh, one supporter wrote on X: "Being a great player does not mean being an excellent coach. The coach's capabilities are limited and he could not understand the difficulty of the Saudi League."
A second wrote: "You are the one who bears blame for today’s match.. Correct your mistakes." A third posted: "Your team is disastrous, Coach. You must correct it yourself."
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