Phil Jones opens up on social media abuse

Phil Jones has opened up about the social media abuse he has suffered in recent years, reflecting that it is something all young players must learn to deal with.

Jones has endured a torrid few years at Old Trafford, not featuring for the first team since an FA Cup tie against Tranmere Rovers all the way back in January 2020.

Prior to that he became a figure of ridicule online for what people perceived to be a period of underperformance. As a result, Jones has not posted on his social media accounts since 2017.

"I stepped away from social media a long time ago but it's difficult because all your friends read it, your family read it and they support you, they want the best for you," Jones told the UTD podcast, as quoted by Sky Sports.

"They don't want to see their mate, their husband, their dad getting slaughtered all over the papers or all over the media, so it's tough because mentally I was going through a tough time and (then) to read stuff as well."

Jones went on to paint a gloomy picture of the future, with the defender expecting young players to be forced to deal with online criticism for their entire careers.

"It's difficult but it's something I've learned to deal with, especially over the time I've been at United and the more experience you get, the older you get, the better you learn to deal with those things," he added.

"I suppose for young players coming into the game now, not just at Man United, but all over the world, it's a very hostile, toxic place to come into and they've got to be able to deal with that mentally as well as physically.

"I look how the game's been developed over the last 10 years, and the way social media has developed and it's difficult to stay away from it. It's difficult not to get distracted by it (and) young players coming into the game, I think it's difficult for them not to read it.

"I know as a young player, that's the first thing you do: you come off the game and you want to see what people are saying about you and when you strip it all back in reality, it doesn't really matter what they say because they're not picking the team."