Three years ago, John Stones watched glumly from the bench as Manchester City were dumped out of the Champions League quarter-finals by Lyon.
Despite City playing with three centre-backs, Stones was not among them, Pep Guardiola picking Aymeric Laporte, Eric Garcia and midfielder Fernandinho in what amounted to a humiliating snub.
Against that backdrop, Stones was facing an uncertain future, persistent injuries and high-profile errors building a perception of the defender as a player who simply could not be relied upon.
The turnaround for Stones since then has been nothing short of remarkable, the 29-year-old now one of City's most important players following his renaissance and a key man in tomorrow's Champions League final against Inter Milan.
This season, Stones has reinvented himself as a midfielder, showcasing his cultured ball-playing ability and composure coming out from the back in his new-found role.
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But the England star, who joined City from Everton for £47milli0n in 2016, admitted he was at his lowest ebb three years ago, when he could not even get into the team.
“It was probably one of the hardest times in my career,” said Stones. “I went back to firstly looking at myself, being super critical of myself and what I could do better on the football pitch.
“Then I looked into every fine detail, down to food, what food, training, what training, what extras. That's come down to doing stuff here and then going home and doing work, even late at night, or straight after the training.
“All these kinds of specific things, finding these small margins and putting them all together. It was a big learning curve for me and maybe made me who I am today.”
Stones could only look on as City were dumped out by Lyon in 2020
To become one of City's most integral players three years laterDespite being marginalised in 2020, Stones said he never thought his days were numbered at City and used his plight to prove his enduring value.
“No, I never thought about that,” said Stones, when asked if he considered leaving City. “I think as soon as you accept that or have that mindset, then you've killed yourself.
"I always wanted to stay, I've stayed and I absolutely love it. I wanted to prove it to myself. You have to prove to yourself, first and foremost, that you deserve to be here and you're good enough in what you bring to the team.
“Any game you don't play or feel maybe you should be playing, it's always difficult and every player feels like that when they don't play.
“But I try to put a positive spin on that and use that to motivate me and make sure that I give the manager a headache to make his team selection. So for me personally, if I hopefully can look back after Saturday with a Champions League winner's medal, it will be super sweet.”
Stones is relishing the role given to him by City boss Pep GuardiolaStones admitted he is relishing his new role, which he is set to play tomorrow, sees him slot seamlessly into midfield when City are in possession and back into defence when they are without the ball.
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“People have always said, from a young age, that they could see me playing in there,” said Stones. “I think I did, too. I still do love playing as a centre-half, but I've absolutely loved this role as well.
“I think I've shown myself that I'm able to do it, maybe showing some attributes that I didn't know that I had, but the manager has seen something in me.
“Ultimately I think I'm just trying to show what I can do in there, show what the manager sees in me and be able to help the team win with my attributes.”
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