‘I didn’t know what to do’ says emotional John Stones as Man City star admits he considered quitting Prem champions
JOHN STONES has opened up about the challenging times he has faced at Manchester City.
The defender revealed he even considered to quit playing for the reigning Premier League champions.
An emotional interview with BBC saw England icon Stones speak up on the dark times he has experienced during his senior career at City.
In 2020, Stones faced several challenges that limited his playing time at the club.
As he struggled with multiple injuries his form and confidence took a hit leading to a drop in the pecking order under Pep Guardiola as City signed new defenders, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake.
He said: “Maybe over a year period I wasn’t playing here [Man City]. Wasn’t playing for England.
“A really low time. And I didn’t know what to do at the start. I was obviously struggling with not playing. Mentally tough – you start doubting yourself massively.”
Stones managed only 16 starts in all competitions during the 2019-2020 season.
He continued: “I thought you know I’ve got two roads to go down: accept that and move on or stay and fight.
“You know I wanted to prove to myself that I was good enough and deserved to be here.
“Went back to the drawing board really and worked harder. I looked at every aspect in my life, down to my food, down to my gym, sleep.
“You know I looked at everything I could to become a better player and a better version of myself. Fortunately it worked out.”
And the 30-year-old was not wrong – it did work out.
Since 2020 Stones has won four Premier Leagues, the Champions League and the FA Cup.
He was also a part of Pep Guardiola’s historic treble-winning squad in the 2022-23 season.
And this summer Stones was a key man in Gareth Southgate‘s Euro 2024 team who fell short of victory to Spain in the final.
After he arrived in Manchester from Everton in 2016 the Englishman has made over 259 appearances for City and is one of Guardiola’s star players.