After 12 years at Old Trafford, defender Phil Jones has officially said goodbye to Manchester United in a moving social media message.

With Man United, how many trophies did Phil Jones win?
The English centre defender has had a difficult few seasons as he has only appeared six times in the Premier League over the last four seasons.

He hasn’t played a single game this season under manager Erik ten Hag, and as a result, he’ll be leaving the club with 229 overall appearances.

Even though he may become somewhat of a meme in the minds of many people—that notorious crawling head tackle will live long in the memory—he will leave Old Trafford with a respectable amount of victories (four major titles).

Indeed, Jones leaves the club having participated in the squads for victories in the FA Cup, League Cup, Europa League, and one Premier League championship.

But after coming from Blackburn Rovers in 2011, he will go when his contract expires in the summer, leaving behind not exactly a legend but perhaps a cult figure.

In an emotional Instagram post, he expressed gratitude to the “special The United fanbase” for all of their support, particularly throughout the previous week, and verified this.

“I want to express my gratitude to everyone who has shown love and support to me over the last week,” he added in full.

“I’ve always understood how unique the United fan base is, but this week really made it sink in for me.

“I hope you all enjoy this weekend’s FA Cup Final; I’ll be cheering on the players from the stands and rooting for their success just as much as you do.”

What was said about Phil Jones by Sir Alex?
The defender’s career clearly didn’t turn out as many people had anticipated. He was after all once predicted to be one of the club’s greatest players by Sir Alex Ferguson.

In fact, Sir Alex observed of Jones after his first season when he won the league: “Jones, certainly the way he is looking, may be our finest ever player.

No matter where we play Jones, I believe he may be one of our finest players ever.

Sadly, for the 31-year-old, things essentially got worse from there. Even the player has acknowledged how difficult things have been over the years.

It’s been incredibly challenging, the last couple of years,” Jones stated during a lengthy interview with club media. That cannot be disputed. That is something you cannot run from. In order to keep me on track, focused, and motivated to strive to become active and play more, my family has been incredibly essential.

And I’ve missed playing football, you know. It eluded me. You play football all your life, and that’s all you want to do. From an early age, doing what you love for a living is all I’ve ever known. Fortunately, I’ve had the opportunity to do that, but not as frequently as I would have wanted.