Phil Jones isn't seen much on a football field these days, but he has been spotted in a cameo role on a popular TV show.
The Manchester United centre back is very much the forgotten man at Old Trafford, having failed to make a club appearance this season. But he has appeared in the HBO series Succession; although he didn't need to break character for his few seconds of fame.
In episode eight of Season Two, two people are filmed having a drink together in a bar. And fleetingly, in the background viewers can see a clip of a football match on a television, with one team in blue and the other in red.
Succession is a show based in America, but one eagle-eyed TikTok user noted that the clip was based in the Allianz Stadium in Sydney. But @noproblemgambler was left confused when he couldn't match any of Sydney FC's kits to the two shown.
However, a bit of extensive research alerted him to the Sydney Festival of Football, a summer tournament that was held back in 2010. At that time, the highly-rated Jones was at Blackburn Rovers, and being tracked by Sir Alex Ferguson.
Rovers were competing in the event with hosts Sydney FC, AEK Athens, and Rangers. And it was the Blackburn v Rangers clash that featured on HBO, with Kenny Miller scoring past Paul Robinson as Jones, then 18, watched on helplessly.
A year later, Jones moved to United for £16.5 million, and has since 229 appearances for the Red Devils. He's also been capped 36 times by England, appearing in both the 2014 and 2018 World Cup finals.
But TV time has been rare on the field of late, his swift Succession venture aside. Jones has been injured for the entire 2022/23 campaign, and wasn't named in Erik ten Hag's 25-man squad.
His contract is up at the end of this campaign, when he'll almost certainly be heading out the door. But his recent fitness record leaves him in danger of struggling to find a move, with the player himself yet to reveal any contract offers from clubs.
