John Stones joins Inter Milan on free transfer

England defender John Stones joined Italian champions Inter Milan on a free transfer and signed a two-year contract on 30 July 2026. The 32-year-old left Manchester City when his deal expired at the end of June after 10 successful years at the Premier League club. Stones stated he had "lived all my dreams out" after helping City win six Premier League titles, the Champions League, two FA Cups, five League Cups, three Community Shields, the Club World Cup, and the Uefa Super Cup.

Since becoming a free agent, the centre-back attracted interest from clubs across Europe, including Chelsea and Juventus. Inter Milan were crowned Serie A champions for the 21st time last season and were set to start their title defence against newly promoted Monza on Saturday, 22 August.

Stones, a former Barnsley defender, made 295 appearances for City, scoring 19 goals, after joining from Everton for £47.5m in 2016. He won 93 caps for England and was part of the squad that finished third at the summer World Cup, starting the quarter-final victory against Norway and the 2-1 semi-final defeat by Argentina.