It’s not every day that fans spot a former Premier League star sitting just a few rows behind Ryan Reynolds at a Wrexham game.
But that’s exactly what happened last weekend when ex-Manchester United defender Phil Jones was seen in the stands as the Hollywood co-owner watched his team fall 3-1 to QPR.
The sight of Jones immediately set off a wave of speculation online.
Was he there to discuss a coaching role? Could he be the latest addition to Wrexham’s growing football fairytale?
Setting the Record Straight
As it turns out, the story is far less dramatic than some supporters imagined.
Wrexham director Shaun Harvey explained that Jones was simply attending the game as a guest of the club’s chief executive, Michael Williamson, who happens to live nearby.
“Poor old Phil Jones came as a guest of Michael Williamson to the game, because they live very close together,” Harvey shared on the Fearless in Devotion podcast.
“If we had won that game, nobody would have cared less.
But suddenly it’s, ‘What’s this conspiracy?’ He was just enjoying his day at Wrexham.”
From Young Star to Retired Defender
Jones, now 33, had an up-and-down career that started with huge promise.
Signed from Blackburn Rovers for £16.5 million in 2011, he became part of Sir Alex Ferguson’s final title-winning Manchester United squad.
But injuries constantly held him back, and he eventually slipped out of the first-team picture before leaving the club in 2023.
After a year away from the game, he officially retired, turning his attention toward coaching and other opportunities in football.
New Chapter Beyond the Pitch
While fans were quick to imagine Jones stepping straight into Wrexham’s set-up, he has actually been focusing on building his post-playing career.
Just this week, he graduated from the Professional Footballers’ Association Business School with a diploma in sport directorship.
Jones admitted the course was exactly what he needed after retirement: “When I finished playing, I asked myself, ‘Well, what do I do now?’ I enjoy coaching, but I wanted something else too.
This gave me focus and opened up new doors.”
Looking Ahead
Though there’s no Wrexham job lined up for Jones right now, he’s keeping his options open.
Coaching is still on his radar, but he also sees real potential in moving into a directorial role within football.
As he put it: “The technical aspects of the sporting directorship role I really admire. Maybe in the future, it’s a role I’d like to fill.”
For now, Jones was simply a guest in the crowd — not the club’s next signing.
But given his fresh qualifications and strong ambition, it may not be long before his name pops up again in football circles.