Guardiola: Stones is City’s equivalent of Pique

John Stones is Manchester City’s equivalent of Barcelona defender Gerard Pique, according to boss Pep Guardiola, who insists his side are lucky to have the England international on their books.

During his time in Catalonia, Guardiola oversaw Pique’s rise to the top of the game, winning three La Liga titles and two Champions League trophies together over a four-year spell.

Since they both arrived at the Etihad Stadium in the summer, Guardiola has seen much of the same characteristics in Stones, who signed from Everton for £47.5 million after three years on Merseyside.

And with Stones’ peak years still very much to come, Guardiola is excited to see what the youngster can achieve under his guidance.

(Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

“With John, you cannot forget, he’s 22 years old. In his career, he only played one game a week and now he plays three games a week, in places like the Nou Camp against Messi,” he said.

“For the international team, he didn’t play one minute at the European Championships, now he plays 90 minutes, 90 minutes, 90 minutes.

“And of course he has to improve, but not now at the beginning. He’s 22 years old, that’s what is so nice, my job is to help him develop, to not discriminate in how he wants to play, to help him be more aggressive, how he has to drive to the ball, how he has to pass quicker.

“He has to make a lot of mistakes, and I will do it in the nicest way possible, for sure.”

“Sometimes you have to help him understand when he can do some things and in some other moments he cannot. The basics, the principles, the qualities – he’s great.

“Gerard Pique when he started here was quite similar. Gerard came here to Manchester and he started playing not so often, but through time he grew stronger. This does not happen in one day or one month, he needs time.”