John Stones' future at Manchester City is becoming a big question mark, as the 31-year-old center-back's contract is about to expire. Stones is one of the first signings under Pep Guardiola in 2016. In particular, he is also the player who has been with the Spanish coach for the longest time in his career.
From December 2025, Stones has been constantly out of action due to injury. This has forced Man City to buy more Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace in the winter transfer window, in order to strengthen the squad depth.
Besides Guehi, Abdukodir Khusanov was also given the opportunity to start and quickly affirmed stable form. Even options like Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol also returned impressively. This makes Stones' return no longer too important.
Before the FA Cup semi-final, Pep Guardiola admitted that Stones' situation was no longer as easy as before: "He has been injured many times. Now he has returned but other players are playing very well.
Khusa and Marc are the same. He is injured and recovering. The important thing is that in just two or three weeks, he has trained fully and that is the best news.
The Spanish coach also frankly acknowledged that Stones will find it difficult to return: "That's right, 10 years of attachment. I cannot accurately assess his form because he has had times when he was not in his best form.
The only thing I want is for him to be healthy. Unfortunately, like last season, he had to be out of action for a long time.
In the context that Man City is still competing in many arenas, John Stones' future is likely to be decided after the season ends. No matter what, the English player has certainly had a fulfilling career at the blue team, with achievements of 6 Premier League titles, 1 Champions League and many other major and minor titles.
