One meeting with Sir Alex Ferguson was enough for Phil Jones to set his heart on a move to Manchester United.
European giants were queuing up to try and sign Phil Jones back in 2011 but the Red Devils came out on top over their biggest rivals.
Like countless other signings made at Manchester United, the pull of Sir Alex Ferguson made the difference.
Jones joined United as part of a £16m deal from Blackburn Rovers, and the English centre-back spent 12 years at Old Trafford
Ferguson famously predicted that Jones could be United’s “greatest ever player” after he signed, and while that didn’t pan out as planned, he did go on to win the Premier League, FA Cup and Europa League with the Red Devils.
Unfortunately for Jones, long-term injuries plagued his career and he left United in 2023 before announcing his retirement aged 32.
Phil Jones shares details of Man United move
After enjoying a breakthrough at Blackburn, there was an abundance of interest in Jones from Premier League clubs.
United were in the market for a new centre-back, and had been linked with Raphael Varane that summer, but Ferguson had set his sights on Jones.
Speaking on the High Performance podcast, Jones has now shared details of his meeting with Ferguson and revealed a six-word question convinced him to sign.
“Obviously I signed for Man United but there were clubs sniffing around. Chelsea, Arsenal, I met with Arsene Wenger, I met with David Moyes (at Everton), I met with City a few of the representatives,” Jones said.”
“Harry Redknapp rang me, so I was fortunate I had a whole host of clubs I could have chosen anyone. It was just crazy. To hear the voices of these people. Kenny Dalglish, I met with Kenny at his house at Liverpool, I met with all these people.
“The only club that didn’t ring me or speak to me was Man United. An unknown number rings me, I never answer unknown numbers, I answered it half asleep in bed, this voice comes on, ‘Phil it’s Sir Alex here’.
“He’d said along the lines of we’d love to have you at the club, I love watching you, I know everything about you, and I’d love you to come out to Nice (where he was on holiday) to have a chat with you.”
“The last thing he said to me [in the meeting] it still gives me shivers now, he looked into my eyes and said: ‘Phil are you a winner son?” and I was like, yeah. In my head I was thinking ‘where do I sign’.
“I was meeting Arsenal three hours later, flying to London to meet Arsene Wenger, and I remember I said to my agent ‘I don’t want to go, Ive made my decision'”
Didn’t work out for Phil Jones at Man United
It was clear from Ferguson’s prediction that Jones was held in extremely high regard at United when he signed.
He had such lofty potential but was never able to reach it due to recurring injuries. Repeated problems with his hamstring and knee meant Jones was constantly fighting to stay fit.
READ MORE: Phil Jones makes ‘massive’ Luke Shaw claim as Man United star nears injury return
However, his attitude and work ethic was always spot on – it’s easy to see why Ferguson adored him.
Despite his injury issues, Jones always gave his all for the club and it’s unfortunate he didn’t get the farewell he deserved.
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