Stones buckles down despite Man City exit talks intensifying, expresses desire to stay at the club as he steps up recovery.
John Stones buckles down moves to shut down Manchester City exit talk.
John Stones has taken steps to allay rumours about his future by declaring that, despite “dark days” brought on by his repeated injuries, he wants to stay at Manchester City.
The 31-year-old only managed 1,134 minutes in all competitions and six Premier League starts in 2024–25, another season marred by injuries. Since joining City in the summer of 2016, the defender has never made more league starts than the 23 he made in his first season.
Prior to Sunday’s second Club World Cup group match against Al Ain, Pep Guardiola reiterated his desire to cut down on the team’s size by not having a “long” roster. This has sparked rumours that Stones, whose contract expires next summer, may depart because of his patchy injury history.
But he said: “I’m here, I want to stay here, I love it. I’m here to help the team, and I don’t know if what’s been said or speculated, but I hope that kind of shuts it down.”
Stones admitted considering if he wanted to continue playing. “Yeah, there’s been points where you think, you’ve been giving all this effort, you dedicate all your life, especially how I approach or go about my life, and football, I give everything, on and off the pitch to be here or be ready to play games and [there] are the dark days,” he said. “Everyone’s been through them and think: ‘why is this happening?
“You wish it would have gone a different path. All of us have been through different upbringings and challenges through life and what did we do within those situations, was it fight or was it give up? I was a fighter from a young age, in difficult moments, you have to look at the bigger picture and realise what are your morals, what you believe in, and fight to make it worthwhile.”
Stones is not yet match-fit to face Al Ain at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. “I feel great and I’m excited to get going,” he said. “It’s difficult when you’re injured, you almost work longer and more, so from that aspect I know the guys mentally and physically have had such a long season, [but] I suppose mentally for me it’s been difficult dealing with the injuries and the process.
“Now I’ve put that behind me and will use this as a mini-introduction back before the new season and another trophy for us to hopefully win and get some game-time.”