Phil Jones' Manchester United career is almost officially over. The Red Devils confirmed on Friday that the England international will leave Old Trafford at the end of his contract this summer, having made 229 over the past 12 seasons.
In truth, his exit is no surprise. The 31-year-old hasn't made a single appearance under Erik ten Hag this season, with his last four years being riddled by injury. He has made 13 appearances across the past four years, with his final start for United coming when he was surprisingly selected at Anfield as Liverpool ran out emphatic 4-0 winners over their fierce rivals last April.
Following confirmation of his departure, Jones published an emotional letter to Manchester United fans as he shared what it has meant to him to join the club and play for the Red Devils.
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"My time at United has been nothing short of incredible," he wrote. "When I decided to leave Blackburn, I always wanted to prove myself further. I’d represented my boyhood club, and lived a dream, but I was desperate to show everyone what I could do at the highest level.
"I had this hunger inside me and I was desperate to continue that at a club that could challenge for everything. I had offers from a few clubs but I was waiting and waiting for the call from United. One day, on holiday, the phone rang from Sir Alex.
"I left my holiday that day, I couldn’t wait to meet him. I couldn’t wait to sign and, most of all, I couldn’t wait to get started. There was only one club where I wanted to continue my journey in the game. To wear this shirt just once, to wear this badge and represent everyone associated with it, was an honour...
"I lived a dream at the biggest club in the world. I played for England in major tournaments. At United, I won trophies, most notably the Premier League under Sir Alex, in his final season."
Yet, Jones could have easily found himself playing for Liverpool instead of Manchester United when leaving Blackburn in the summer of 2011. Both clubs were in for both the defender and Jordan Henderson.
One ended up at Old Trafford, while the other moved to Anfield. One enjoyed immediate success while the other was written off. Meanwhile, Sir Alex Ferguson would famously claim Jones could even be United's 'best ever player', while belittling Henderson when explaining why he didn't sign the midfielder.
Yet 12 years on, the Scots words have emphatically come back to bite him. As Jones' career has been wrecked by injury, Henderson has captained Liverpool to every major honour to reclaim their perch. Both the Reds and their captain will have no regrets.
This piece was written after Phil Jones' last start for United... a 4-0 thrashing at Anfield.
“Arguably the way he is looking, he could be our best ever player.”
As Liverpool thrashed Manchester United 4-0 at Anfield, Sir Alex Ferguson watched on from the stands, aghast at seeing his beloved club, that he had served so well for 27 years, destroyed by their fiercest rivals for the second time in a matter of months.
The Red Devils are unrecognisable compared to the sides the Scot built to knock the Reds off their perch. United alumni Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Roy Keane watched on in disgust at Anfield, providing a reminder of just how far United have fallen.
It’s nine years now since Ferguson left Old Trafford and retired from management, with United failing to win the Premier League ever since his departure. Tails firmly between their legs at Anfield, already inflicted to yet another trophyless year, such a record won’t be changing anytime soon.
Yet some of the Scot’s final United signings still remain with the club and were members of his squad that won their final Premier League title in 2012/13. And their longest-serving player, a man Ferguson once declared could be their best ever player, was selected to start against Liverpool on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, he faced off against the Reds’ own longest-serving player in this 4-0 whitewash, and one who had been written off by the legendary United boss in the past after he had decided against signing him.
In the summer of 2011, both Liverpool and Manchester United were in the midst of a homegrown recruitment drive with Blackburn Rovers defender Phil Jones one subject of both club’s desires. It would be Ferguson who got his man on that occasion, signing the then 19-year-old in a £17m deal. The teenager would describe the switch as, “a once in a lifetime opportunity,” as he turned down an alternative offer from FSG to come to Anfield.
Just days earlier the Scot had missed out one other target, however, as the Reds brought in a 20-year-old Jordan Henderson from Sunderland in a deal worth up to £20m. United had been long-term favourites to sign the midfielder at the time after Ferguson was tipped off by Black Cats boss Steve Bruce, but would ultimately claim to cool interest and move on to other targets.
They weren’t the only other homegrown talents Liverpool tried to sign that summer, having already brought in Andy Carroll in a club-record £35m deal from Newcastle United the previous January. They also signed Stewart Downing from Aston Villa in a £20m, but would miss out on his Villans team-mate Ashley Young to the Red Devils. Meanwhile, they would also miss out on Ipswich Town striker Connor Wickham to Sunderland, eventually re-signing Craig Bellamy on a free transfer from Man City to bolster their attack instead.
Writing in his second official autobiography, published in 2013, Ferguson would claim that he did not lose any sleep over the Reds’ £75m splurge on the trio, before explaining why he had decided not to pursue a move for Henderson.
“Liverpool embarked on another phase of major rebuilding yet few of the signings made in Kenny's time haunted me at night,” the Scot wrote. “We looked at Jordan Henderson a lot and Steve Bruce was unfailingly enthusiastic about him.
"Against that we noticed that Henderson runs from his knees, with a straight back, while the modern footballer runs from his hips. We thought his gait might cause him problems later in his career.
“Stewart Downing cost Liverpool £20m. He had talent but he was not the bravest or the quickest. He was a good crosser and striker of the ball. But £20m?
“Andy Carroll, who also joined for £35m, was in our northeast school of excellence, along with Downing... The FA closed it down after complaints from Sunderland and Newcastle. This was at the time academies started.
“The Carroll signing was a reaction to the Torres windfall of £50m. Andy's problem was his mobility, his speed across the ground. Unless the ball is going to be in the box the whole time, it's very difficult to play the way Andy Carroll does because defenders push out so well these days. You look for movement in the modern striker.”
To be fair to Ferguson, it was easy to fire shots at a struggling Liverpool at the time and he would be proven spot-on about Downing and Carroll. And given the Reds had tried to sell Henderson to Fulham after just a year at Anfield following Brendan Rodgers ’ arrival, the Scot would have felt at the time his judgement had been proven right there too.
But while the now Liverpool captain had struggled in his early years on Merseyside, it was in complete contrast to Jones’ own fortunes at Old Trafford, where he was being tipped to become a future England captain.
A Premier League winner in 2013, in Ferguson’s final season with the club, it was after such glory that the Scot made the boldest prediction about the defender.
“You saw Jones tonight…arguably the way he is looking, he could be our best ever player,” Ferguson said after winning the title in 2013. “I think Jones may be one of the best players we have ever had, no matter where we play him.
“At 21 years of age, he is going to be a phenomenal player. I think he can play anywhere on the pitch. He has such a massive influence, with his instinct and reading of the game. He has a drive about him."
Injuries have ultimately stopped Jones ever living up to such praise, but against Henderson’s own resurgence, it sheds new light on Ferguson’s judgement all those years ago. And when considering the Scot's clarification of his previous comments regarding the Liverpool skipper when speaking last year, pointing to a fear of potential injuries as the reason why he didn't sign the midfielder, his initial assessments really haven't aged well.
“There was criticism from Brendan Rodgers about my assessment of Jordan,” Ferguson said during a virtual charity night for The Alzheimer's Society. "The actual story was we were ready to make a bid for him at Sunderland. I spoke to Steve Bruce (Sunderland’s manager).
"Our scouting/medical department said they weren’t happy with his running style. They said he could be the type to get injuries. I had to make sure players would always be available.
"But we loved Jordan as a player. He has proved that now. All the stories I hear about him tell me that I missed out on a really good person."
Jones has never made more than 29 Premier League appearances in a season, and only broken the 30-game barrier once overall since Ferguson left Old Trafford in 2013. While he would win the FA Cup in 2016 and Europa League in 2017, they remain his only other major honours with the Red Devils.
Meanwhile, his Tuesday night start at Anfield, where he was substituted at half-time as Ralf Rangnick ditched his failed back five, was only his second this season and fourth Premier League appearance since May 2019. Boasting 227 appearances for United across 11 seasons, averaging 20 appearances a season, he also hasn’t been called up for England since winning the last of his 27 international caps at the 2018 World Cup
Now 30, the defender is out of contract in 2023, way down the pecking order at Old Trafford, despite playing against Liverpool, and his Red Devils career is meandering to an end.
Such a plight is in stark contrast to Henderson, who made his 47th appearance of the season (more than any of his Reds team-mates) when starting and captaining Jurgen Klopp ’s men to victory over United, having signed a new contract until 2025 last summer.
Appointed Liverpool captain in 2015, he has led the Reds to Premier League, Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, League Cup and UEFA Super Cup glory. With the Reds now chasing an unprecedented quadruple, his list of honours are well-placed to rise in even the weeks ahead, while his efforts when captaining Klopp’s men to a maiden Premier League title in 2020 earned him the FWA Footballer of the Year award.
Boasting 439 appearances for Liverpool - nearly twice as many as Jones at United - while he might not be a guaranteed starter anymore, the 31-year-old is still a vital player for both club and country, as well as one of the best leaders and role-models in English football.
The England vice-captain also boasts 69 international caps and, having been a World Cup semi-finalist in 2018 and European Championships runner-up last year, will be looking to go one better at his third World Cup finals in Qatar this winter, and feature in his sixth major finals.
Henderson has been present for this entire Liverpool rise, as Jones has been for United's entire demise, and continues to make a mockery of Ferguson’s claims all those years ago. With this current spineless Red Devils outfit clearly lacking leadership, you wonder if the Scot regrets deciding not to follow-up initial interest in the midfielder back in 2011.
With Ferguson handed a reminder of just how much he got it wrong with regards to the Liverpool captain in Tuesday’s 4-0 thrashing, his turnaround juxtaposed alongside Jones’ decade-long collapse, against his infamous 'best ever player' praise, just highlights the different directions the two clubs continue to move in.
And having witnessed Klopp and Henderson emphatically reclaim the Reds’ perch, that he'd fought so hard for, from the Red Devils in recent years, all that's left for Ferguson to do now is to continue watching on aghast, helpless to prevent United's ongoing embarrassment which continues to take place in his lofty shadow.
A version of this story was first published on April 21, 2022.
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