Manchester City star John Stones has admitted he considered leaving the Etihad in 2020 after falling out of favour.
The England international, who has now become a regular under Pep Guardiola, faced an uncertain future ahead of the 2020/21 season.
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Due to an injury and the resulting loss of form, Stones was only able to appear 16 times in the Premier League the previous season.
Instead, Aymeric Laporte and Nicolas Otamendi were preferred, and Spanish young star Eric Garcia also received regular playing time.
And in the summer of 2020, City strengthened its defense even further by signing Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake.
Even Guardiola did not want to rule out Stones’ departure, but the centre-back eventually regained his place and has been a key player ever since.
In a candid interview with BBC Sport, the former Everton defender spoke about the difficult times he experienced.
He said: “I may not have played here, not for England, for a period of over a year.”
The 81-times capped Three Lions player continued: “A really bad time and I didn’t know what to do at the beginning.”
“It was obviously a problem for me not to play. When you are mentally strong, you start to doubt yourself massively.
“I thought, ‘You know, I have two options: accept this and move on, or stay and fight.'”
Stones added: “I wanted to prove to myself that I was good enough and that I deserved to be here.
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“I really started over and worked harder.
“I looked at every aspect of my life, down to my diet, my gym, and my sleep.
“I tried to do everything I could to become a better player and a better version of myself. Luckily, it worked out.”
Over the next four years, Stones struggled with numerous injuries but was always in the starting line-up when he was fit enough to play.
Stones has now made over 250 appearances for City and is considered one of the best defenders in the Premier League.
And he knows he will have to do his best to keep title contenders Arsenal at bay in Sunday’s decisive clash at the Etihad Stadium.
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