John Stones is one of Manchester City’s longest-serving players.
Having arrived at the Etihad Stadium in the same summer as Pep Guardiola, the defender has gone on to make 257 appearances for the Blues across all competitions since 2016.
With the 30-year-old currently representing England in the 2024 European Championship, Stones has once again had to swap being coached by Guardiola to being told how to play by Gareth Southgate.
Ahead of England’s latest game in the tournament currently taking place in Germany, the centre-back has shared some insight into what he’s learned from his prolific club manager and how he uses that when playing for the Three Lions.
John Stones shares how much of an impact Pep Guardiola has had on him as a player
Speaking in a recent press conference (via BeanymanSports) ahead of England’s quarter-final match against Switzerland,
He said: “I think one of the biggest things for me was, I’m sure you’ve heard me say it before about me knowing football before I played under Pep, quickly realising I knew nothing about just how he sees the game, how he wants us to play football and how simply he gets that across to players.
“Definitely it’s had a big effect on not only me but the lads that have played under him here in the England team.
“We bring ideas and solutions to certain things sometimes and try our best to better the team because we’ve been so successful and I believe he’s the greatest manager of all time, for me.
“So to use some of his ideas, his tactics, us as players knowing them so well to get them across to the team or the manager and put them into play has been good over the years.
“It’s hard to do that when you’ve not got the time on the training pitch as you do at your clubs but I think over the years where we drip-fed things in and the manager also watches every single game he’s picked up his own ideas and tactics.”
Stones has evolved so much under Guardiola
In recent years, Stones has evolved his game and changed how he is sometimes used in the City team, as for the second half of the Citizens’ Treble-winning campaign, the England international took up a midfield hybrid role that saw him step out of the defence when in possession.
More recently, Jamie Carragher raved on Monday Night Football about Stones dominating the midfield during City’s 3-1 win over Manchester United in the Premier League last season.
Interestingly, moving into midfield is not something the City star has done for England during the Euros, as Terry Butcher pointed out recently, which shows the differences between how Guardiola and Southgate feel Stones is best utilised.
Now that the defender has shared how much he has gained from having Guardiola as a manager for such a significant period of time, this highlights how much England have benefited from it given how important Stones is for the Three Lions.
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