Phil Jones says his mates WhatsApp him pictures of his own face

Phil Jones

The England international has become renowned for pulling faces on the pitch, resulting in endless memes being produced on social media.

He revealed that even his friends are in on the act, but dismissed it as nothing more than light-hearted jibes.

"It’s banter, my mates banter me all the time about it," he told Goal.

"It is what it is. I’m not too fussed about that either. My mates send me pictures every single night on the WhatsApp group taking the mick out of me. It’s banter, it is what it is. It doesn’t bother me.”

Jones also hit back at his critics by letting his achievements do the talking, after he penned a new contract at Old Trafford until 2023 last month.

"People can make their own opinions up; ultimately I’ve got another contract at United,” he said.

"I’ve been here for eight or nine years now and I’ve won the Premier League, been to two World Cups, been to a Euros, played in the Champions League, won the Europa League, the FA Cup, so people can talk but ultimately they’re the stats and that’s what I’ve done.”

QUIZ! Can you name the top three Premier League scorers for every season?

Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.