I lived the dream with Man United - but I worried about what people would say in the street

Former Manchester United defender Phil Jones has opened up about the struggles he faced from the public during his problematic ending to his career.

The 32-year-old announced his retirement from football in August after not playing since the end of the 2022/23 season. Jones joined United in 2011 under Sir Alex Ferguson but saw his time at Old Trafford cut short due to injuries.

After making 229 appearances for United, Jones has spent time in the club's youth academy working with the Under-18s. Now, after calling time on his playing career, he is preparing to take the next steps in coaching.

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Speaking to BBC Sport, Jones opened up about problems with injuries and how he suffered from abuse from fans. "When you are playing you never really look back and reminisce about the good days, like the trophies you have won or big games you have played in, because it is always about the next game, and the next one after that, and so on.

"Even when I was struggling to deal with being injured so often - and some of the abuse I was getting about it - I'd never really thought about the past and what I'd done in the game.

"So, it was almost a case of saying to myself 'well done you', and finally showing myself that appreciation and being thankful for what I'd achieved, because I did not always think like that.

"The example I always use to explain that change in my mindset is when someone came up to me at a railway station and said, "Oh it's a shame about your career". I was in a much better place by then, and responded by saying I disagreed because I had lived the dream, with my boyhood club Blackburn, then Manchester United and England.

"I'd had lots of public situations like that to deal with down the years without responding in that positive way, and had often ended up just trying to avoid them.

"It got so bad for a while that I would be walking down the street, worried about what people would say to me in case I got abuse, and thinking about what I'd say next. I just wanted to keep my head down when I was in a crowd, and it was the same on social media, which is why I came off it for a while."

The defender added that he just wanted to get back playing despite people's perception that he was 'deciding' to be injured.

He said: "You want to say something back, especially when they said it to my face, but it has never been in my character to do that. I've always been humble and down to earth, and I've never taken myself too seriously.

"So for me to feel that way was hard, and it would get to me. I was ashamed that I was injured, to the extent I didn't even want to speak to my teammates, and I was embarrassed going into the club every day just for treatment.

"It took a long time for that to change and for me to realise that, while I had lots of ups and downs in my career, ultimately I was proud of what I did as a player. I can look back on some unbelievable memories and I made some amazing friends for life.

"That stage is over for me now, but I am just at the start of the next one."

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