Lingard's team faces major setback.

FC Seoul fans sent funeral wreaths to the training ground to protest against coach Kim Gi-dong for the way he treated midfielder Ki Sung-yueng.

FC Seoul fans sent funeral wreaths to the team's training ground in Guri, Gyeonggi Province.

According to Yonhap , FC Seoul fans expressed outrage at the club's management and coach Kim Gi-dong following reports that midfielder Ki Sung-yueng was preparing to transfer to Pohang Steelers.

Ki Sung-yueng has long been regarded as a legend and icon of FC Seoul. However, the former Swansea star has not been highly valued by coach Kim Gi-dong recently. Ki Sung-yueng mostly sat on the bench throughout the 2025 season, leading to his decision to move to rival Pohang Steelers.

According to Korea JoongAng , Ki Sung-yueng was unhappy about being left out of the starting lineup for the match against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on June 21, even though FC Seoul was facing a midfield crisis at the time.

Coach Kim Gi-dong even prioritized using young midfielders like Ryu Jae-moon and Hwang Do-yoon. The conflict between Ki Sung-yueng and Coach Kim Gi-dong was revealed to be "almost irreparable".

FC Seoul fans subsequently argued that coach Kim Gi-dong was not properly utilizing Ki Sung-yueng's talent, and they also criticized him for showing favoritism towards players from Pohang Steelers – his former team – as part of his squad building strategy.

FC Seoul fans subsequently protested against the club and coach Kim Gi-dong by sending funeral wreaths to the training ground. One fan wrote: “In one year, Gi-dong sold the club’s best young talent and now a legend to Pohang. Hopefully we will have a new coach soon.”

FC Seoul fans' anger towards coach Kim Gi-dong also stems from the fact that the South Korean capital club has invested heavily in recent years, but its on-field performance has not been commensurate. Despite having Jesse Lingard and many quality foreign players in the squad, FC Seoul only finished 7th in the K1 League 2025 standings, 15 points behind the leader. Their chances of competing for the championship this season are very low.

Chelsea thrashed ES Tunis 3-0 on the morning of June 25th, securing second place in Group D of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™.

Source: https://znews.vn/doi-cua-lingard-gap-bien-lon-post1563613.html