John Stones on surprise Andres Iniesta meeting and his new Man City approach
John Stones is such a talent that even Andreas Iniesta posted a picture of himself posing with the Manchester City defender on his Instagram account.
Stones, the centre-back nicknamed the 'Barnsley Beckenbauer' earlier in his career because of his imperious style on the ball, transformed himself into a classy midfield enforcer for Pep Guardiola last season as City made history by winning the Treble.
When he bumped into Iniesta in his local gym during his summer break, he was stunned when the former Barcelona midfielder’s young son, Paolo, asked him to pose for a selfie - and couldn’t resist requesting a souvenir of his own.
Stones isn’t isn’t quite ready to change his sobriquet to the 'Etihad Iniesta' - but it's a measure of his growing stature that one of Guardiola’s favourite players recognises the quality of the England international.
Stones explained: “I was on holiday and went into the gym near where I live. I walked in and he (Iniesta) was on the treadmill.
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“It was such a pleasant surprise. I said ‘good morning’ to him and saw he was there with his son.
“We ended up all having a picture. I was a bit surprised and shocked that he was in there but what a lovely man, a legend of the game. Honestly it was an absolute pleasure to speak to him.
“I didn’t ask him for any advice. I didn’t really want to ask for a picture, but then his son asked me - and I thought ‘I’ve got to seize this opportunity and ask him for one.’
“What a lovely guy. I think it speaks volumes about him - and I think everybody knows his footballing ability.”
John Stones and Andres Iniesta posed for a photo together earlier this summerStones scored a sensational goal as City came from 2-0 down to win the first game of their pre-season tour against Japanese champions Yokohama Marinos 5-3.
They now face Bayern Munich before moving on to South Korea to complete their preparations with a meeting with Atletico Madrid in Seoul.
But the 29-year-old admits he is still coming to terms with what City achieved last season when they beat Inter Milan in Istanbul to complete a Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup clean sweep.
England star Stones is set for another key season at the Etihad next termStones revealed he changed his mental approach to the European showpiece after losing the 2021 to Chelsea.
He said: “It’s really not sunk in, to be honest. I tried to approach it differently from the previous time. I didn’t want to make the same routine before the game, I wanted to make it different, I wanted to be calmer, I wanted to be focused about winning and not on the occasion.
“I wanted to go in with a winning mentality - and just knowing that we were going to win the game. Not arrogantly. I think it’s called speaking something into existence - and it worked.
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“Honestly, you’ll hear it a lot but it really is a dream come true. I can’t describe the feeling, I can’t put it into words - it really hasn’t sunk in yet.”
Stones added: “I didn’t want to do the same thing that led up to a defeat and such a difficult summer two years ago. It was only a few minor tweaks, it was more mental than anything.
“It was about calmness and not thinking about the game. When you’ve got those few days, you’re constantly thinking, ‘how are we going to do this?’
“So I literally switched off after training and didn’t think about it - but then gave everything when I was in training.
“I Ieft the noise outside, because your friends and family are always asking you ‘how is it, how’s everything going?’ It was small switches like that that helped me focus on the day and what was in front of me.”
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