John Stones claims fitness never limited him in last Manchester City season

John Stones, the 32‑year‑old England centre‑back, said he was fit for most of his final Manchester City campaign, despite being limited to just 18 appearances across all competitions in the 2025/26 season. He added that selection was driven by tactical choices, not physical condition, and he now aims to anchor England’s defence at the World Cup in the United States. Manchester City reshaped its defensive depth during the 2025/26 campaign. The club completed a January signing of Marc Guéhi and negotiated a contract extension for Josko Gvardiol until 2031, while Sporting Director Hugo Viana listed Atalanta’s Marco Palestra as a potential right‑back option. When asked by ITV Football whether he would have liked more minutes, Stones replied, “Yeah definitely… 100 per cent, and that comes down to a lot of things, a lot of factors, the manager [ Pep Guardiola ], what was going on, but that’s something that I can’t dwell on now.” He added, “I think it’s always difficult to pick an 11, and I said this to him. And he knew how much I wanted to play, how much I wanted to be there, and you can look at it in so many ways.”

England plans extra friendly with Sporting Kansas City between World Cup games

In a separate interview with , Stones said he had been “fit, pretty much all season”. The comment raised questions about why Pep Guardiola did not rely on him more often. Pep Guardiola shifted his defensive strategy toward the physical profiles of Marc Guéhi and Abdukodir Khusanov in the final run‑in of the season. This tactical pivot reduced Stones’ involvement and may have hastened his decision to explore a free‑agent move this summer.

England face World Cup without Livramento, Chalobah named replacement

Reports from the England camp indicate that Thomas Tuchel may deploy the fully rested Stones regularly throughout the World Cup in the United States. Stones already featured in the 3‑0 warm‑up victory over Costa Rica. Stones is now positioned to anchor England’s defence at the FIFA World Cup. His upcoming free‑agent status suggests a fresh challenge awaits after his decade‑long spell at Manchester City.