The day David Silva waved goodbye to Manchester City, a little more than three years ago, there was a small keepsake left for John Stones. An unlikely duo, Gran Canaria meets Barnsley, the pair had grown surprisingly close. Silva’s departure hit Stones hard.
Stones opened his locker at the club’s training ground. ‘David left me a little book,’ he says. ‘A Spain National Team book. He wrote a little message in it because he always used to joke with me that one day maybe I’ll get a World Cup and two Euros.’
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Silva is still at it, regularly sending him WhatsApp pictures of Spain celebrating those feats. Stones has come close to matching those and has snaps of his own. A Champions League trophy — the only major silverware to elude Silva in a career that was abruptly ended last week by an anterior cruciate ligament injury. His twilight was spent at Real Sociedad, twinkling in La Liga.
‘We’re in touch quite a lot,’ says Stones. ‘I texted him the other day. I’m super sad to know it’s finished like that. When I first came (in 2016), he took me under his wing a little bit. We are two different people who clicked somehow. He’s an incredible person, very understated.
‘We FaceTime a few times a month. Over the summer I saw him when I was on holiday. I’d love to see him more, I wish he had stayed longer, but I couldn’t convince him. I think David is the best player I’ve ever played with.’
Given the roll call of names Stones has lined up with, that is a meaningful claim. Silva has a statue outside the Etihad Stadium, with some labelling him the club’s greatest ever, though that conversation may change over time given recent history.
Stones could easily sit in a best-ever XI, particularly after last season’s exploits where he roved to such a degree that the lines between defender and creative midfielder blurred in a way that brings on headaches.