john stones will leave Manchester City at the end of the season, ending a 10-year spell that began with his £47.5m move from Everton in 2016. He said his contract runs out this summer and that he is leaving as a free agent.
He leaves after 293 appearances and 19 goals for City, with six Premier League titles, one Champions League, two FA Cups, five League Cups, three Community Shields, the Club World Cup and the Uefa Super Cup on his record. Stones described Manchester City as his home for the past 10 years and said he came as a kid and is leaving as a man.
Stones and Guardiola
Pep Guardiola signed Stones from Everton in 2016 and said it would be difficult to understand Manchester City's success without him. Guardiola also said, before the FA Cup semi-final against Southampton, that Stones had recently had three weeks or a month without injuries after a difficult spell in his last two seasons.
Stones said he did not think City would have been anywhere near as successful without Guardiola and that he felt grateful to have spent so long with him. He also said he had lived all his dreams out and lifted all the things he came here to achieve.
City's summer exits
His departure adds to a wider summer change at City. Kevin de Bruyne, Kyle Walker and Ederson left last summer, and Bernardo Silva will leave when his contract expires in June.
Stones was part of the Treble-winning side in 2022/23, played as a midfielder in the Champions League final against Inter Milan in 2023 and scored a crucial equaliser against Arsenal in 2024. He was restricted to four Premier League starts in the season before his departure, a sharp drop from the role he held during City's trophy runs.
For City, the immediate change is clear: one of Guardiola's first signings is leaving as a free agent, and a player who helped define the club's recent run will not return after this season.
