John Stones has developed into one of the best central defenders in the world – and the Manchester City ace has been speaking about one of his biggest role models.
Stones recently just came to the end of his eighth season at the Etihad Stadium, after signing for the club from Everton for £50 million.
Stones initially struggled at Manchester City, with his price tag appearing to weigh heavy at times.
He came in for criticism, and there were times when there were even reports that City might have looked to cash in on him.
But over the last few years, Stones has really excelled for City, and recently, his work as a hybrid defender has impressed many people.
Stones is one of the best ball-playing defenders in the world – and the star has been speaking about someone he always used to watch in his younger days.
John Stones ‘loved’ watching Gerard Pique as he claims he has ‘similarities’ with Barcelona legend
Stones has long been known for his ability to retain possession extremely well.
But not only is he good at that, he often breaks the lines really well and is not opposed to taking risks.
On top of that, Stones also now steps into central midfield for City to create overloads. He and Rodri have struck up a great partnership in recent times.
Before Stones, Gerard Pique was seen by many as the top ball-playing central defender in the game. Or at least one of the very best.
And Stones has now admitted he used to watch the Barcelona legend while he was still at Barnsley. He said (via BBC Sport): “When we were trying to play like them [Barcelona] and adopt styles, we tried to watch the games more.
“I loved [Gerard] Pique when I was growing up.
“You can see similarities stature-wise. He is probably taller than me but quite a similar build and in how he played.
“I’ve always been a big fan of how courageous they are and their play in tight areas. Obviously the past eight years, I’ve been doing that with the best person tactically – the best manager in the world to learn off, who has been with those types of players, to pass on his knowledge and skills for me to learn.
“Watching him [Pique] and playing on the biggest stages for club and country, I saw a lot of similarities.”
Stones watching Pique has served him well
Not too many defenders these days cite Pique as someone they modelled their game on, but there was no doubt he was a world-class central defender.
Pique made 616 appearances for Barca from 2008 to 2022 and for the majority of his stint, he was right up there among the best centre-backs in the world – especially around the early 2010s.
Pique was a rock-solid defender, but also a technician, so it is little wonder Stones was paying close attention to him.
And Stones has been served very well by watching the Spanish legend. He also been aided massively by working with Pep Guardiola, who obviously implemented his tiki-taka style at Barca