Stones and Silva exit City as £116m Anderson deal seals record signing

Manchester City are parting ways with four players on July 1, headlined by long-serving duo John Stones and Bernardo Silva, as the club simultaneously finalises a club-record £116 million deal for Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson.

Stones and Silva both confirmed their exits before the end of the 2025-26 season, allowing City supporters to give them a farewell at the final Premier League fixture against Aston Villa. Stones, signed from Everton for £47.5 million in 2016 — making him the second-most expensive defender in football history at the time — made 295 appearances under Pep Guardiola and collected six Premier League titles, the Champions League, the Club World Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, two FA Cups and five Carabao Cups. Silva arrived a year later and contributed 76 goals in 460 outings across the most successful period in the club’s history.

Both players are currently representing their countries at the FIFA World Cup in North America, but their next steps diverge sharply. Silva has already signed a two-year contract with Real Madrid and officially joins the Spanish club today. Stones, 32, has yet to announce his next destination, choosing to concentrate on England’s World Cup campaign before addressing his club future.

The other two departures are academy products Ashton Muir and Ezra Carrington, whose progress was repeatedly disrupted by injuries.

The four players are reported to have been earning a combined £550,000 per week — Stones on £250,000 and Silva on £300,000, according to The Athletic and other reports — and those savings appear set to be redirected almost immediately. Anderson, 23, underwent a medical at England’s World Cup training base in Dallas on Sunday ahead of a move that would surpass any previous City transfer. The England international has been identified as City’s primary target to replace Silva in midfield.