Manchester City star Josko Gvardiol was already well aware of John Stones when he signed for the club and asked for a favour every year
ORLANDO, FLORIDA - JUNE 26: Josh Gvardiol and John Stones of Manchester City during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 group G match between Juventus FC and Manchester City FC at Camping World Stadium on June 26, 2025 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
Josko Gvardiol and John Stones
View Image
Josko Gvardiol will miss having 'partner in crime' John Stones at Manchester City after the defender completed his move to Inter. The England man was not present as the teams played each other in a Hong Kong friendly while he takes rest after the World Cup, but has signed for the Italian champions as a free agent after ten years at the Etihad.
Stones won everything with City and was a popular member of the dressing room, helping the squad through days and weeks even through long spells when he wasn't playing. Gvardiol came to be close with Stones after arriving from RB Leipzig in 2023, but the defender was already well aware of a teammate that was eight years older than him.
Even when they became equals, Gvardiol made sure that he asked Stones to sign a shirt for him every season that they were together and the Croatian will still cherish them. The former Everton star, as well as captain Bernardo Silva, will be big misses for the City dressing room, but they go with the best wishes of all the players.
"When I was younger, I wouldn’t say John was my idol because I was already a defender, but he was one of the best defenders," said Gvardiol in a wide-ranging interview with the Manchester Evening News. "It’s a secret but every season I asked him to sign a shirt for me.
"Also, with Bernardo, both are great people and characters. How much have we lost? We will find out and recoup at the start of the season, but I think we're going to miss both of them. Both of them have a quality.
"Unfortunately we won't see each other, but, yeah, I think it's a perfect club for John as well. He's going to love it being in Italy and also Bernardo being back where he belongs, you know, because I know he talks about Spain for a long, long time and he’s from that area."