Manchester United defender Phil Jones has revealed his struggles with social media abuse.

The 29-year-old, who has struggled to play for United in recent years, stopped using his social media channels back in 2017 due to the torrent of abuse he had received.

And Jones has opened up on his experience to the UTD podcast.

"I stepped away from social media a long time ago but it's difficult because all your friends read it, your family read it and they support you, they want the best for you," Jones said on Monday.

"They don't want to see their mate, their husband, their dad getting slaughtered all over the papers or all over the media, so it's tough because mentally I was going through a tough time and (then) to read stuff as well...

"It's difficult but it's something I've learned to deal with, especially over the time I've been at United and the more experience you get, the older you get, the better you learn to deal with those things.

"I suppose for young players coming into the game now, not just at Man United, but all over the world, it's a very hostile, toxic place to come into and they've got to be able to deal with that mentally as well as physically.

"I look how the game's been developed over the last 10 years, and the way social media has developed and it's difficult to stay away from it.

"It's difficult not to get distracted by it (and) young players coming into the game, I think it's difficult for them not to read it.

"I know as a young player, that's the first thing you do: you come off the game and you want to see what people are saying about you and when you strip it all back in reality, it doesn't really matter what they say because they're not picking the team."