Just a day after their monumental win over Arsenal, Fabrizio Romano has announced that a second legend is to leave Manchester City on a free at the end of the season.
Bernando Silva announced last week that he would leave the club after nine years in the summer, and the Portuguese now has an outstanding chance to the six Premier League titles he has already won with the Blues after Sunday's 1-0 win over Arsenal.
Defeat would have moved the Gunners nine points clear at the top of the table and surely put a comeback beyond City, but a win closed the gap to just three points - and another win in their game in hand over Burnley on Wednesday night will move Pep Guardiola's side to the summit for the first time since gameweek one.
And now Romano has claimed another huge part of City's dominance over the past decade, John Stones, will follow Silva out of the Etihad exit door this summer.
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Joining City a year before Silva in 2016, Stones became the world's second most expensive defender of all time, behind David Luiz, when he signed in a £50million deal from Everton.
And although he came in for criticism in his first season at the club, Stones has repaid his transfer fee several times over in the 10 years since, firmly establishing himself as one of the best in the world in his position.
But after five league titles, two FA Cups, three League Cups and a Champions League, Romano posted on X on Monday evening that Stones has decided to seek a new challenge at the end of the season, which could yet see him add to both his league and FA Cup tally.
"John Stones, expected to leave Manchester City in the summer as free agent," Romano tweeted. "31 year old defender wants to help until the end of the season and then expected to go after making history at #MCFC."
A big summer ahead for Man City
Speaking after the 2-1 win over Arsenal, Guardiola paid an emotional tribute to Silva, describing him as a City legend.
“If I talk a lot, I will cry,” Guardiola said. “Just I can say, ‘Thank you so much, from the deepest of my heart, on behalf of this club, what you have done’.
“When you write ‘LEGEND’, you have to write in capital letters, because he has been. For every single game during nine years!
“He’s a special, special player. All I can say is where he will go, the team will be so lucky to have him!”
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And Guardiola is sure to speak in similarly glowing terms about Stones should the news prove to be true, with the former Barnsley man just eight games off a double century of appearances for the club.
He is unlikely to reach the milestone, having suffered an injury-hit season and been resigned to the bench since his return, with January signing Marc Guehi and Abdukodir Khusanov keeping him out of the time.
But City sporting director Hugo Viana still faces another big summer in trying to replace the influence as Silva and Stones as City look to maintain their era of dominance.
Topics: John Stones, Manchester City
Mark Holmes