{"id":62621,"date":"2026-04-29T07:30:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T03:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/?p=62621"},"modified":"2026-04-28T22:04:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T18:04:29","slug":"john-stones-leaves-manchester-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/john-stones-leaves-manchester-city\/","title":{"rendered":"John Stones to Exit Manchester City After Decade-Long Tenure"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"background: #f7fafc; padding: 15px;\">\n<p><strong>Quick Read<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>John Stones will depart Manchester City as a free agent this summer after a decade at the club.<\/li>\n<li>The 31-year-old defender won 19 major trophies, including six Premier League titles and the Champions League.<\/li>\n<li>Persistent injury issues, which sidelined him for hundreds of matches, influenced the decision to end his tenure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Manchester City defender John Stones has confirmed he will leave the club as a free agent at the end of the 2025-26 season, concluding a transformative 10-year period at the Etihad Stadium. The 31-year-old, who joined the club from Everton in 2016 for \u00a347.5 million, announced his departure via social media, describing his decade in Manchester as a journey that exceeded his wildest expectations.<\/p>\n<h2>A Legacy of Major Trophies at Manchester City<\/h2>\n<p>During his tenure, Stones became a cornerstone of manager Pep Guardiola\u2019s defensive setup, securing 19 major trophies. His collection includes six Premier League titles, a Champions League trophy, two FA Cups, and five League Cups. He was a pivotal figure in the historic 2022-23 treble-winning campaign, starting in both the FA Cup and Champions League finals. Over 293 appearances, Stones earned recognition as one of the most technically gifted defenders of his generation, often stepping into midfield roles that redefined the tactical expectations for modern centre-backs.<\/p>\n<h2>Injury Struggles and the End of an Era<\/h2>\n<p>The decision not to renew his contract comes amidst significant physical challenges. According to <em>Opta<\/em>, Stones has missed 737 days and 295 matches due to 32 separate injury issues throughout his time at the club. His playing time has dwindled sharply, with only 18 league appearances since the start of the 2024-25 campaign and just 353 minutes of Premier League action this season. Despite these setbacks, he remains a vital leader, recently captaining the side to an FA Cup semifinal victory over Southampton.<\/p>\n<h2>The Departure of a Manchester City Icon<\/h2>\n<p>Stones\u2019 exit marks the latest chapter in a wider transition for the club, following the departures of long-serving stars such as Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Ederson, and the soon-to-depart Bernardo Silva. Guardiola has frequently lauded Stones as an \u201cadorable\u201d presence in the dressing room, emphasizing his character as much as his tactical influence. Looking ahead, the defender\u2019s focus remains on finishing his final months at the club on a high note, with his sights potentially set on international duty for England, provided his fitness holds for the upcoming World Cup.<\/p>\n<p><em>The timing of Stones&#8217; departure highlights a deliberate shift at the Etihad toward squad rejuvenation, as the club moves on from the core group that defined its most dominant decade, prioritizing long-term durability over the legacy of its most injury-prone legends.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>England defender John Stones confirms his departure from Manchester City as a free agent this summer, marking the end of a highly decorated 10-year era at the Etihad Stadium.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":-1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAow5Nm1DA:productID":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[40037,250,249],"class_list":["post-62621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sport","tag-john-stones","tag-manchester-city","tag-premier-league"],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/john-stones-champions-league.jpg","_embedded":{"wp:featuredmedia":[{"id":-1,"source_url":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/john-stones-champions-league.jpg","media_type":"image","mime_type":"image\/jpeg"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62621"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62621\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62648,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62621\/revisions\/62648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}