John Stones has just made a major declaration about his immediate future at Man City

John Stones has just made a major declaration about his immediate future at Man City

John Stones playing for Manchester City (right), Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola (inset)

Credit: Christian Hofer – UEFA/UEFA/David Ramos via Getty Images

Manchester City have been very busy so far this summer, and the likelihood is that some players will now start to leave the club.

 

 

Manchester City have made four new signings already this summer.

 

Tijjani Reijnders, Marcus Bettinelli, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Rayan Cherki all signed within days of each other, with City sending out a big message to other Premier League clubs.

 

Last season wasn’t good enough, and Pep Guardiola – working with new sporting director Hugo Viana – is out to make amends.

 

 

With new players coming in, there is now even more scope for departures.

 

Kevin De Bruyne has already left City and joined Napoli on a free transfer.

 

The likes of Jack Grealish and James McAtee could also be outgoings in the coming weeks.

 

John Stones has also been linked with an exit from Manchester City – and the England international has now finally spoken about his future.

 

John Stones declares he wants to stay at Man City

John Stones playing for Manchester City.

Photo by Christian Hofer – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images

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John Stones had another injury-hit season in 2024/25.

 

He was limited to just 20 appearances across all competitions, and has not played in the Premier League since February.

 

As a result of his struggles, there had been some speculation that City could look to sell Stones.

 

But the player’s feelings right now are clear – he wants to stay put.

 

He said (via Guardian): “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.”

 

“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. 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.”

 

Pep Guardiola ahead of Manchester City v Wydad.

Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images

What Pep Guardiola said about John Stones’ future

So it looks like Stones is now going to stay at City.

 

And his comments will probably delight Guardiola, who had said back in March that Stones would stay for next season.

 

He said: “Next season, John [Stones] will be there, Nathan [Ake], Manu [Akanji] will be fine, Rodri will recover perfectly, Oscar [Bobb] will be back…

 

“Do we buy three more holding midfielders, seven more central defenders?! It’s not about that. It’s just being lucky, take right decisions. Sometimes we don’t do that and pray.”

 

John Stones for Man City (2016-present)

Appearances – 277

Goals – 19

Assists – 9

Trophies – 15

Last night at his press conference, Guardiola was full of praise for Stones, saying ahead of the Club World Cup game with Al Ain: “The only thing we want from John [Stones] is to be fit; to make his lovely job, playing football, consistently, and in a different way to especially last season. It’s the only thing we want. The rest, his talent and ability will do it and we’re going to help him and I’m pretty sure he’s going to do the rest…”

 

Since those comments, though, £50 million signing Stones (Sky Sports) could easily have opted to try and leave to get a fresh start.

 

But ultimately, he knows that he would be a regular starter for City if he just stayed fit.

 

It would be the same situation if he left and joined another club. So in theory, he may as well stay. Hopefully, he will have better luck in 2025/26.

 

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