Oh, it’s going to be emotional. But the message to all City fans as our legends take their leave, has to be: ‘Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.’
Few players have made being a Blue so much fun than our classy central defender from Barnsley and our midfield livewire from Lisbon. Together, they have represented us in 783 games in all competitions, collecting 40 winner’s medals between them along the way.
It was fitting that when we beat Chelsea in the FA Cup Final, it was Bernardo and John who climbed the steps to Wembley’s Royal Box to lift the glittering prize presented by Prince William in unison. You can be sure that His Royal Highness will be keeping a keen eye on the visit of Aston Villa this weekend given his affiliation with our opponents!
It was John who arrived in Manchester first, of course, signing for City from Everton in a deal worth £50million in August 2016. After coming through the ranks with his hometown club, he became recognised as one of the Premier League’s most accomplished centre-backs during his time at Goodison Park and was capped by England for the first time in May 2014. Stonesy has won 87 caps for his country and is going to his third World Cup this summer.
Bernardo Silva has been described as Pep’s version of a Swiss Army knife
He might even come up against the man he regards as a true Blues Brother at the tournament. Bernardo Silva has been described as Pep’s version of a Swiss Army knife such is his incredible versatility. Signed from Monaco for £43.5million in the summer of 2017, after demonstrating the full array of his talents when the French club eliminated us from the Champions League on away goals after two classic games, the 31-year-old is that man our manager has often turned to when he has a problem that needs solving. Whether he’s been asked to play as a false striker, No 10, winger or defensive midfielder, our captain has never been found wanting. When he was instructed to drop in at left-back for a crucial game at the Emirates, he hardly gave Arsenal star-boy Bukayo Saka a kick.
Little wonder then that Bernie is one of the most coveted players in the game. At the end of every season, you could set your watch by the timing of newspaper sports pages or transfer websites to come alive with claims about how Europe’s biggest clubs had set their sights on signing a player who made us tick. Not all of it was tabloid tittle-tattle. As Bernardo himself admitted: “In my third season here, when Covid hit, I wasn’t very happy with my personal life. I was alone. Then, luckily enough, I met my wife and my life started getting better on a personal level. It had nothing to do with the city or the football club - I love this football club - it was a time where I explored other options and I thought about leaving.
“Pep was one of the biggest reasons that I stayed. City just never allowed me to leave! I’m really happy it didn’t happen, because I would have missed out on the Treble winning four (Premier League titles) in a row and a lot of fantastic things. After we won the Champions League, I signed a new deal to stay another three seasons. From then, really, my goal was always to fulfil that contract until the end. I will always love this club, the city and the fans.”
John Stones has won a trophy at a rate of every 17 appearances he has made in a Sky Blue shirt over the last decade. Just let that incredible statistic sink in for a moment.
It was under Pep that he really became a Rolls Royce of a footballer, capable of stepping into midfield to create the overloads that our manager demands to impose his philosophy on games.
The influence John exerted as we closed in on the Treble in 2023 was immeasurable
In that respect, the influence John exerted as we closed in on the Treble in 2023 was immeasurable. There was his headed goal in the 4-1 defeat of Arsenal that was to prove pivotal in the outcome of that year’s title race. In the FA Cup Final against Manchester United, the Yorkshireman actually headed his own crossbar such was his determination to produce a last-minute goal-line clearance to deny our rivals an equaliser. In the following week’s Champions League Final, he strode forward to effect a midfield performance that drew statistical comparisons to Lionel Messi as Pep used him to undermine Inter Milan’s five-man defence.
Yet John also had his moments when he thought his time in East Manchester was coming to an end. At one point last season, he even contemplated retiring from the game altogether as his frustration with injuries and fitness issues began to take its toll.
The 31-year-old invariably has a smile for everyone. But in the lead up to the cup-final, he sat down with Campbell Hatton to discuss the tragic death of the boxer’s former world-champion father and City super-fan Ricky Hatton as part of Mental Health Awareness Week. John’s honest revelations about the peaks and troughs of his own professional journey will resonate with so many people.
“Last season was tough” said John. “I think it was when I got injured we played Real Madrid that I was ready to stop playing. It was a low moment that probably came from emotion and not something, deep down, that I was really going to do. I asked why the injuries kept happening when I was doing everything and more to prepare myself. I didn’t know if I was just unlucky. If I wasn’t being professional or living the right way then I could have looked at myself and known the reasons. But it was the opposite. It was a bit like mental torture because I wanted to find out why it was going wrong.
“You’ve got to fight, think positively and think about what you’ve got”
“But good things don’t come easy. I remembered five or six years ago, when the club didn’t want me and I decided to fight. That’s what I had been doing since I was a kid. I’ve always fought through situations and proved to myself that I can do it. I came through that moment and I have applied it to other things that have happened. You’ve got to fight, think positively and think about what you’ve got.
“One thing about this Club that I’ll love forever, is how together it is,” said John. “Through good times or bad times, everyone is there supporting you no matter what’s going on. I don’t think you get it at this level at any other club anywhere in the world. I think the fans can relate to me as a player and how I was brought up. The path I went on meant I always had to work hard and graft. Even to this day, the first thing for me is to give everything. The fans can see that. They can see that I will never give up.”
When the final whistle blew at Wembley to signal our eighth FA Cup success thanks to Antoine Semenyo’s wonderful winning goal, it meant Bernardo would be lifting his second trophy as captain inside eight weeks. With 35,000 City fans singing the name of our No 5, it was typical of our skipper share the precious moment with the man who is such a treasured team-mate that he named his pet dog in his honour!
“To feel the love from everyone has been overwhelming”
“It was so special.” said John. “I didn’t really want to do it, but they dragged me up! I’ve been trying to focus on the games coming up, so it hasn’t sunk in yet that I’m leaving. I’m trying not to get too emotional. But things move on. It’s been a really special time - and to feel the love from everyone has been overwhelming. I’ll definitely miss it. I’ll miss Pep’s passion and the standards he sets without ever really knowing. That winning mentality is like something I’ve never ever seen.”
But the final word in this tribute must go to Bernardo. He said: “In the future, I think people will look back and think that this generation was, if not the best, then one of the best in the history of English football.
“It’s really difficult to compare eras, but when you consider the quality of the Premier League and how every club now can go to other leagues and get the best players from all over the world. I know I’m biased, but it’s difficult not to put this team as one of the best that ever played in this country.”
Join us at Co-Op Live for the ‘After Party’
To mark the achievements of Manchester City men’s, women’s and academy teams during the 25/26 season, we can confirm that an open top bus parade will take place on Monday 25th May, followed by ‘The After Party’ a special celebration event at Co-op Live.
Event Information
Date: Monday 25 May
Doors Open: 15:00 (UK)
Parade Show begins: 16:00 (UK)
Final Entry: 18:00 (UK)
Player Arrival at Co-op Live: 18:30 (UK)
Event Closes: 20:00 (UK)
