The day David Silva waved goodbye to Manchester City, a little more than three years ago, there was a small keepsake left for John Stones. An unlikely duo, Gran Canaria meets Barnsley, the pair had grown surprisingly close. Silva’s departure hit Stones hard.
Stones opened his locker at the club’s training ground. ‘David left me a little book,’ he says. ‘A Spain National Team book. He wrote a little message in it because he always used to joke with me that one day maybe I’ll get a World Cup and two Euros.’
Silva is still at it, regularly sending him WhatsApp pictures of Spain celebrating those feats.