Defender Phil Jones undeniably stands as one of the interesting players to ever feature in the Manchester United squad. Though his career with the club ended on a very dismal note, his contributions for the Old Trafford army cannot be ignored. The 32-year-old made a total of 229 appearances for United across all the competitions, scoring six goals and eight assists.
However, there also came a time when he was treated like a burden by the United management, as the Englishman faced a sort of abolishment from the club, getting chances to play in rare cases only.
Coming back to the present, Jones has opened up about the ‘humiliating’ experience when former interim manager Ralf Rangnick substituted him at half-time during United’s crushing 4-0 defeat to bitter-rivals Liverpool at Anfield.
‘He humiliated me’: Jones on Rangnick
Speaking on the High-Performance Podcast as quoted by Give Me Sport, Jones recalled the only time in his career he lost control in the dressing room, describing how he felt “humiliated” when Rangnick substituted him at half-time during the fierce clash against the Reds at Anfield.
The former English international expressed his anger, believing he had performed decently, while other players had struggled more. Feeling disrespected in front of fans, family, and teammates, Jones slammed his boots on the floor and confronted Rangnick, accusing him of making an unfair decision.
“I’ve never lost my head in a dressing room and I’ve never been emotional enough to lose myself in the dressing room, and I think that’s the only time in my career that I completely lost it. I was absolutely raging. Raging. That he humiliated me. Humiliated
me in front of an Anfield crowd first and foremost, fearsome rivals, and the fans and my family and the players.“We were 2-0 down at half-time, weren’t great, I don’t think we had a shot on target first half. Nothing was coming off. And I’d actually done alright in the game. I’m not saying I was exceptional but I definitely didn’t deserve to come off at half-time. There were far worse players on the pitch that day.
“At half-time I remember Ralf came in and said, ‘I’m going to make a change, Phil’s going to come off’. I took my boots off and I slammed them on the floor and I said, ‘you’re taking the f*** p out of me’.”
Give Me Sport
Once regarded as a future Manchester United great, Jones revealed that his teammates were equally shocked by his substitution. While he later apologized for his emotional outburst, he stood by his belief that his frustration was justified.
However, both Jones and Ragnick are now a just a part of history and the Reds are now under the managerial stint of Erik Ten Hag, who is having a sort of rollercoaster ride considering the ups and downs United are currently going through.
Following a goalless draw against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday, they now gear up to take on the Dutch side Twente in the Europa League 2024/25.
