Former Manchester United defender Phil Jones has been reflecting on his time at Old Trafford.
Phil Jones saw it all at Manchester United, good and bad. Jones was at Manchester United for the tail end of the glory years under Sir Alex Ferguson, helping to win the Premier League title in 2012/13.
And on the other side of the coin, Jones played games under David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and Ralf Rangnick.
Speaking to former teammate Rio Ferdinand‘s YouTube channel, Jones has been discussing the difficulty of the pressure playing at United, and picks one example who stands out.
Angel di Maria debut
Phil Jones picked out former teammate Angel di Maria as one who stood out who struggled for multiple reasons at Old Trafford.
The former centre-back says he looks back at Angel di Maria’s debut as one which gave him reason to worry.
While many remember Di Maria shining in a 5-3 defeat to Leicester City, where he scored a wondrous chip, the Argentina international actually made his debut in a 0-0 draw away at Burnley.
Di Maria started in midfield and played 70 minutes before going off with a knock, replaced by Anderson.
Jones recalls: “I look at Angel di Maria I think ‘wow’. I remember his first game away at Burnley, I remember getting into the dressing room, tight as anything, he looked like a little lost soul.
“He got absolutely battered, absolutely mullered. Every time he got the ball, ‘whack’.”
Jones believed this adjustment to a more physical style of football was one of many issues Di Maria faced in his one and only season, following his switch from Real Madrid.
He added: “He just never really got United. Maybe the manager didn’t help, he didn’t get along with him.
“I’ve seen so many players, they don’t perform because the shirt’s so heavy, and they go on to do well in their career.”
Jones elaborated that in terms of the heaviness of the shirt, he means the relentless expectation to win every game at Manchester United, and try and match the accomplishments of the past.
To this day many players at the club still struggle with it, and we see some playing with more freedom once they leave.
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Angel di Maria was an expensive signing
Angel di Maria lasted only one season at Manchester United before forcing through a switch to Paris Saint-Germain.
United spent £59.7 million on Angel di Maria, where he was at the time the club’s record signing. A number of big money deals since have meant Di Maria is now the club’s eighth most expensive signing.
United then sold Di Maria for £44 million, where he is still the club’s third highest sale of all time.
Di Maria spent several year at PSG and went on to win the World Cup with Argentina in 2022, before returning to former club Benfica in 2023, where he still remains.
If the rough treatment he received in English football still grates, then his return with PSG in 2019 will have brought back bad memories, when Ashley Young shoved him into the advertising hoardings at Old Trafford, to major cheers from United supporters.
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