John Stones will depart Manchester City at the end of the season, bringing the curtain down on a 10-year association that has yielded some of the most decorated years in the club’s history.
City confirmed the news on Tuesday, with the 31-year-old set to leave the Etihad having made 293 appearances and scored 19 goals since joining from Everton in 2016. He was Pep Guardiola’s second signing as City manager, and went on to become one of the most important players of the Guardiola era.
In that time, Stones has won six Premier League titles and the Champions League, establishing himself as one of the finest defenders in English football. His evolution under Guardiola, from a polished but occasionally erratic centre-back into a tactically sophisticated and positionally intelligent defender, stands as one of the more remarkable individual transformations of the modern game.
There may yet be more to celebrate before he goes. City are chasing a domestic treble this season, having already won the League Cup, and remain alive in the FA Cup following their semi-final appearance at Wembley on 25 April.
Stones marked the announcement with a heartfelt message on Instagram. “They say all good things must come to an end,” he wrote, “but this thing we have had has been the greatest and it will remain a part of me forever.”
