Ten Hag credits Phil Jones for 12-year career with United after defender bids emotional farewell

Erik ten Hag has spoken on Phil Jones’ departure from Manchester United after the defender bid an emotional farewell to the club this morning.

After 12 years as a Red, Jones will be leaving the club this summer as a free agent. He won a Premier League title, an FA Cup and a Europa League throughout his time at Old Trafford and is one of only two players remaining, along with David de Gea, to have played under Sir Alex Ferguson.

Unfortunately, injuries plagued the Englishman’s career and saw his game time slowly reduce from season to season. His last first-team start for United came against Wolverhampton Wanderers last January and his last-ever appearance was against Brentford in May 2022, when he came on as a substitute to see out the Reds’ 3-0 victory.

The 31-year-old released a heartfelt statement today in a letter to the Old Trafford faithful, reflecting on what an honour it was to wear the shirt and have such fond memories of his time at the club.

Ten Hag on Jones

Ten Hag was quizzed on the prospect of Jones leaving in his pre-match press conference this afternoon and responded (via the Man Utd website): “Yes, [I have seen him on the pitch] 20 minutes [in the] first training [session] of the year!

“But, I think he has [had] a great career, what he achieved, winning the Premier League, winning the FA Cup, winning the Europa League, being present at two World Cups, a massive career at Man United. So, all the credit for his career.”

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