If there's one man who knows a thing or two about winning, it's John Stones. The England defender has been at Manchester City for six years now, and in that time he has won everything there is to win in the domestic game.
Since he joined City from Everton in 2016 Stones has helped the Blues win four Premier League titles, one FA Cup and four Carabao Cups, and he played a key role in Pep Guardiola's side reaching a first Champions League final in 2021.
City have some of the best players in the world, coached by one of the greatest managers of all time. But when speaking at the premiere of City's latest documentary, 'Together: Champions Again!', the 28-year-old revealed that one ingredient has been key to City's success.
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"The bond [between the players] is special and that’s why we’ve been so successful on the pitch all the time I’ve been here," Stones said. "We’ve been competing, challenging, winning – always ups and downs but we’re there to fight together.
"I think that does start with the dressing room and the tough times we go through make you realise what our responsibilities are and what we’re fighting for. We can pick a player up if he’s having a tough time, on or off the pitch, and that’s great. It’s special to have that in a squad."
One teammate who Stones gets on with particularly well is Bernardo Silva - in fact, everybody does. The Portuguese star has become a fans' favourite since arriving at the Etihad in 2017, and in the dressing room he is just as popular.
"I think he’s such a good soul," said Stones. "He’s always happy, he doesn’t take himself too seriously and he’s always up for a laugh, always smiling and he’s an incredible player. Why is he so loved? It’s a hard question to answer when someone is so liked and valued within our squad, he just has so many good qualities and everyone clicks with him."
That fun-loving nature was clear for all to see when Bernardo revealed last season that he had named his new dog John.
"Bernardo was always joking in the dressing room about wanting a dog and telling everyone 'I'm going to call it John Stones' and I said why?" Stones said. "So, he said, 'so I can say John, come here now!'. It’s definitely to wind me up. I see it as a positive that it must mean he likes me!"
Weekly episodes of ‘Together: Champions Again!’ are available on City+ and Manchester City’s Recast Channel for fans to enjoy.
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