John Stones reveals how he ‘changed everything’ to rescue his Manchester City career

The John Stones renaissance is a story of dogged perseverance in the face of some pretty miserable times.

At one point in the summer of 2020, he appeared ready at Manchester City after being made a virtual outcast by Pep Guardiola. The following year he faced the double heartbreak of defeats in grand finals for both club and country.

Yet somehow the England defender has found the courage to reinvent himself and no one would argue that at 29 he is now one of Guardiola’s key figures heading into Saturday’s Champions League final against Inter Milan, which could earn City the Treble.

Stones has excelled at centre-back, right-back and midfield this season, sometimes within the same 90 minutes. The bigger the occasion, the better he’s played, whether it’s a 4-0 win against Real Madrid or last Saturday’s FA Cup final to beat Manchester United.

Even he seems hard to believe just three years ago that Guardiola preferred to play Fernandinho alongside Eric Garcia for a Champions League quarter-final defeat to Lyon, seen as a sign his time at City was over. .

Stones played in defense alongside Ruben Dias, occasionally making his way into midfield

“It was probably one of the hardest times of my career,” Stones admits. I went back to looking at myself, being super critical and what I could do better.

“I went into great detail on what to eat, when to eat, how to train, what else I could do, everything.

“I would work extra right after training or even late at night. I would look in small margins, break things down to see how I could get back on the team. It was a big learning curve and made me who I am today.

“But I’ve never thought about leaving City. Once you have that mindset, you killed yourself and I always wanted to stay.

“It wasn’t about saying to someone else, ‘I want to prove it to you’ – I wanted to prove to myself that I was good enough to be at City, deserved to be here and could bring things to the team.”

Stones made some progress in 2020/21 before suffering another vicious double whammy at the end of the season. He was part of the City side that was beaten 1-0 by Chelsea in the Champions League final and then suffered a heartbreak with England in the European Championship final against Italy.

“That summer was one of the hardest times to deal with,” he admits. But he fought back again to find the best form of his career.

“All that will make it super sweet, I think when I have a winner’s medal on Saturday night, but I can’t really think like that right now. Ask me again after the final!’ her comments with a grin.

The defender has become one of Pep Guardiola’s key players in their Treble bid

“It wasn’t just Lyon’s game, but any game where you’re left out, maybe you feel like you should be playing. Having said that, it’s always difficult at a club like this because we have great players.

“I really tried to put a positive spin on it when I wasn’t on the team and used it to motivate me. I wanted to make sure I gave the manager a headache with his team selection.’

Stones will definitely be on the Istanbul team sheet. His versatility has defined this latest Pep incarnation of Manchester City and wherever he appears on the pitch he looks comfortable.

His license to build play in midfield has not affected the defensive end of his play either. His reading of the game to make vital blocks and interceptions has never been better.

“I wouldn’t say I was surprised,” he says of Guardiola’s request to take the field.

“People said at a young age that they could see me playing in midfield. I still like playing as a central defender and I absolutely love this role.

“I think I’ve proven to myself that I can do it, maybe showing qualities I didn’t know I had but the manager saw in me.

“At the end of the day it’s about showing what I can do to help the team win and it’s also made me appreciate what the other players in the team want. I know what kind of passes the midfielders would want from me because I’ve been in that position myself now.’

City are hot favorites to add their first Champions League to the Premier League and already won FA Cup titles.

The 29-year-old has excelled this season as a central defender, right back and midfield

Still, their recent history in Europe with shock defeats to Monaco, Tottenham and Lyon suggests there should be no complacency on the part of Stones or his teammates.

“Inter is not in a Champions League final for nothing,” says Stones, who played for two years at Everton with their renowned striker Romelu Lukaku.

“Whoever we play against, we respect the other team. They have incredible players and we all saw them play in the semi-finals in a derby against AC Milan, which is never easy.

“We know what we’re dealing with, but we have to be ourselves and focus on ourselves too.”