Manchester City make decision on John Stones future ahead of June contract expiry

Report: Stones to leave Man City in the summer

According to The Athletic’s Sam Lee, Stones will leave Manchester City at the end of the ongoing season when his contract at the club expires, with it now only “a question of how he and the club want to handle the announcement”.

Continuing on the nature of confirming the exit, Lee said: “I presume it will happen before the (Aston) Villa game so he can get a proper send-off as well.”

Manchester City saw club captain Bernardo Silva confirm that he will be leaving the club at the expiration of his contract in June, with the Portugal international set to be given a farewell around the Blues’ final Premier League home games of the campaign against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa.

Viana and co are expected to progress their revamp of Guardiola’s squad in the summer transfer window, having bolstered the Manchester City first-team ranks with the acquisitions of Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo in January for a combined £84 million.

Who else will leave Man City in the coming window?

In addition to Silva and likely Stones, City are also set to bid farewell to on-loan duo Manuel Akanji and Jack Grealish, with the futures of a range of fringe players also expected to be resolved ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.

John Stones receives Manchester City contract decision

James Trafford is also set for a permanent exit for regular playing time, Omar Marmoush has interest from Barcelona and Savinho could also assess his options, having been heavily linked with Tottenham last summer.

On other potential defensive exits, Lee added: “I’m not quite as certain on (Nathan) Ake’s future but it’s obviously looking likely that he does go as well, but obviously that’s not a case of his contract expiring, like Stones and Bernardo (Silva) – so nobody can be quite as sure.”

Mateo Kovacic has another year on his contract as he looks to get some minutes under his belt in the run-in after an injury-ravaged 2025-26 season. City want to tie down Rodri and Phil Foden to new deals after recently agreeing a one-year extension with third-choice goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli.