The England international will leave the Etihad Stadium this summer after a momentous 10 years in which he has played a central role in lifting 20 major honours.
Having set records aplenty and defined an era of English football, Stones says it all came down to a whole squad and Club pulling in the same direction.
PRE-ORDER THE BERNARDO AND STONES BOOKAZINE
“One thing you realise here is, I don’t think you can say anything’s impossible,” he said in his final sit-down interview as a City player.
“Once we get something in our head and have something to work towards and achieve, it’s a powerful thing to have.
“Something that I think it’ll take a long time and a very special team to ever do again.
“It doesn’t really sink in, to be honest.
“I think that’s probably the mentality of a footballer, that there’s always something next, there’s always something more to aspire to achieve.
“More history and more dreams that have been made that I never could have imagined.”
Stones joined City in the same summer as Pep Guardiola.
Few players exemplify Guardiola’s footballing vision better than the 31-year-old defender, known just as much for his composure and passing ability as he is for his defensive nous.
Stones says that working with Guardiola was a steep learning curve, but that the Catalan had a transformative effect on him as a footballer.
“I think everything’s of such a high demand and that is difficult in some aspects, but I was just so open and willing to learn and try and grasp these things,” he said.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR STONES & SILVA PUB
“When I look back at when I first came, I wasn’t a player that was a typical kind of centre half. I was maybe built for how football is now, but 10 years ago and Pep saw that and everyone kind of got behind me.
“I felt it was the right way to play football and I grew up in a youth team that loved how Barcelona played, how Pep played and we tried to implement that and that was from 16 years old.
“So yeah, it’s all I’ve known how to do and how to play.
“One thing that I absolutely loved was how everyone at the club, everyone in the stadiums, all the fans around the world just grasped it and knew that there was something new coming.
“The word genius comes about, but how he sees the game is totally different.”
“When I came I thought I knew football but I realised quickly that I didn’t.”
One tactical innovation by Guardiola saw Stones shift into a hybrid role between defence and midfield in the second half of the 2022/23 season.
It proved incredibly effective as we won a historic Treble with Stones widely regarded as one of the best players in the world during that period.
The crowning moment for that tactic came in Istanbul as the No.5 played a starring role against Inter as we won our first UEFA Champions League.
Stones said he relished every moment of playing in what was a unique position.
“I was just loving it. I love that role. I wish I could play it every week,” he said.
“It was a new role that was almost created and the freedom that I had, the space to go and express myself in a different way, the different outlook it brought on our team and the different ways to beat teams.
“I honestly loved it. To have the impact that I did in especially in the final was something that I’m so proud of and I’d love to relive it.”
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: 17:00 (UK)
Player Arrival at Co-op Live: 18:30 (UK)
Event Closes: 20:00 (UK)
