John Stones makes final decision on new club after leaving Manchester City | OneFootball

Former Manchester City defender John Stones has now selected his next club after leaving the Etihad Stadium at the end of the 2025-26 season.

The 32-year-old has opted to join Italian Serie A champions Inter Milan, with an agreement now in place over contractual terms – a deal running until June 2028 with no option of a further 12 months, and a salary worth around €4 million net per season.

Stones joined Manchester City from Everton in August 2016 for an initial £47.5 million, going on to spend a decade at the club and winning six Premier League titles, the UEFA Champions League, three FA Cups and five Carabao Cups across a career at the Etihad Stadium that cemented his status as one of the finest ball-playing defenders of his generation.

His final season at the club brought one last piece of silverware – an FA Cup winners’ medal – before he departed as a free agent on 1 July 2026, leaving behind a squad now being rebuilt under new manager Enzo Maresca and director of football Hugo Viana.

The move to Inter represents a significant opportunity for Stones to extend his career at the highest level of European football, with the Serie A champions having identified the England international as an experienced, technically accomplished option capable of competing across both domestic and Champions League campaigns in the years ahead.

Report: Stones to Inter done as defender picks Serie A over Premier League stay

As reported by Fabrizio Romano, Stones has opted for Inter Milan, with approval now in place on all contractual terms – a move that sees the centre-back depart English football for the first time in his senior career, having made over 300 appearances across Barnsley, Everton and Manchester City.

The two-year deal without an extension option reflects both the stage of Stones’s career and Inter’s preference for a defined, structured commitment rather than an open-ended arrangement, with the Italian champions understood to have identified the 32-year-old as an immediate first-team option rather than a long-term investment.

The salary of around €4 million net per season is a significant step down from what Stones would have commanded at his peak years ago, and reflects the pragmatic approach he and his representatives have taken to securing the right footballing environment rather than the most financially lucrative offer available.

Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Atletico Madrid had each been linked with interest in Stones at various stages of the summer, but it is the San Siro that has won his signature – with the lure of playing for one of Europe’s most storied clubs in a new country at the final stage of a remarkable career proving the deciding factor.

What does Stones’ departure mean for Manchester City?

Stones’s exit draws a line under one of the most important defensive partnerships in Manchester City’s recent history, with the Barnsley-born defender having been a central figure in the squad across the full span of Pep Guardiola’s decade at the club.

Viana and Maresca have already begun to address the gap left by his departure, with Marc Guehi having joined the club earlier in January and Vitor Reis returning from his loan spell at Girona to press his case for a role in the new manager’s defensive plans.

The depth of experience Stones carried – not just the trophies, but the understanding of how to manage big games, big moments and the demands of a club that operates at the very top of the game at all times – is not something that can be immediately replicated by a younger player, and Maresca will be acutely aware of that deficit as he shapes his defensive options for the campaign ahead.

Whether the nine-year relationship between Stones and the Etihad Stadium produces a fairytale return at some point, or whether the chapter closes permanently with his move to Milan, the contribution he made across a decade of extraordinary success at Manchester City will ensure his name endures long after the contracts have run their course.