Phil Jones shows true colours as Rio Ferdinand apologises to ex-Man Utd star

Ex-Manchester United star Phil Jones showed his class by accepting 's apology for criticising him during his injury troubles that saw him miss 18 months of football.

Jones - who spent 12 years at Old Trafford - after being released by the giants at the end of last season.

While he was a consistent option in his first few years in Manchester, constant injuries hampered his progress at the club where he made just 13 appearances across all competitions in his last four years.

A knee injury he suffered in 2019 saw him . With Ferdinand unaware of his fitness issues, he levied public criticism at his former team-mate, urging him to leave the club to get regular minutes and allow a young player to progress in his place.

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With Jones appearing as a guest on the show, the six-time Premier League winner began the podcast with an apology to the 32-year-old - and revealed his criticism of the defender had even led to text him about it. "I have to say I apologise firstly before anything, I said sorry publicly but I'll say it to your face this time now, for criticising you," Ferdinand said.

"I criticised him about he wasn't playing for a long period of time and I was like 'he's got to go out and play', I knew this kid when he was 18 and came to Man United, he wants to play football, why is he sitting there?

"Is it the Man United badge that he wants on his chest, is he staying for his own ego, just go and play some football [and] get out of the way, let another young kid come through because you're stifling someone else's growth maybe."

A smiling Jones gracefully replied: "Apology accepted" before admitting that the criticism he received from Ferdinand, who he said was somebody he admired, came at a difficult period in his life.

"I was vulnerable because I hadn't played in so long and I was thinking 'am I ever going to play again', and having all these images and thoughts that it might be the end," he said. Since his retirement, Jones announced his plans to earn his coaching badges and even became involved in United's youth teams training sessions at Carrington.

His first season of no longer being a player at United has coincided with the club's worst-ever start to a Premier League season with Erik ten Hag's side sitting a lowly 14th with just eight points from seven games.

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