Phil Jones Rejected Offer Of Man Utd Testimonial As He Feared Nobody Would Turn Up
Action Images / Lee Smith
Phil Jones rejects the idea of having a testimonial match in his honour when asked about it by Manchester United, as per the Athletic.
The Englishman suffered a very disappointing outing on Sunday against Sheffield United. Jones found himself at fault at conceding a goal as he was allowed to be easily bodied off the ball by Lys Mousset who set up the goal.
Consequently, the defender was hooked at half-time and was replaced by Axel Tuanzebe. The youngster was expected to start the game in the first place but the inclusion of the England defender came as a surprise. But that decision eventually came back to bite Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
It is due to such disappointing performances that United supporters have long since turned on the former Blackburn man. The fans no longer see him as a player fit to start and have been over-critical as of late. A major section of the fanbase seem to dread ever seeing him back in the starting XI again.
Unfortunately, the veteran centre-back seems to be aware of this belief among the Old Trafford crowd. If reports were to believed, the England international refused to hold his own testimonial match when offered by the club, fearing nobody would show up.
The United defender had signed a 4-year contract earlier this year, which would make him eligible to a testimonial match as it would see him eclipse a decade in Manchester. But it seems like Jones isn’t too keen on that.
When offered the opportunity, the once-Premier League champion is believed to have responded with: “Apart from my mum and dad, who else would turn up?”
We can clearly see a man who has lost all confidence in him and no longer honours his own services for the club. Should the out-of-favour centre-back decide to run down his current contract, he would’ve spent around 13 years at the club. And seeing a player leave Old Trafford without having a testimonial match held after 13 years of service would indeed be a bizarre sight to witness.
Clearly, the England man hasn’t exactly been one of the club’s all-time greats Sir Alex Ferguson had hoped he would become, but clearly he’s been a victim of how uncontrollably vocal United fans have become.