England defender John Stones said he “lived all my dreams out” at Manchester City after confirming he will leave at the end of the season.

Stones, whose contract runs out this summer, has made 293 appearances since joining from Everton for £47.5m in 2016.

He helped 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.

“It has been my home for the past 10 years and it will be my home for the rest of my life,” said an emotional Stones in a social media post.

“It has been a rollercoaster in many ways. I came as a kid and now leaving as a man – becoming a father, a husband and, on the pitch, a very fulfilled player.

“I lived all my dreams out and lifted all the things that I came here to achieve.

“At the start of my career here I never would thought I would be in this position. Firstly, to achieve everything but to have the love, the bond with everyone. Every dream has been smashed out of the park.”

Stones was Pep Guardiola’s second signing at City, becoming the world’s second most expensive defender at the time.

“I don’t think it would have been anywhere near as successful without him,” said Stones.

“I’m so grateful that I’ve been able to spend so long with him, win everything with him. I feel lucky and grateful for what he’s done for me.”

More to follow.

The understated clench of a gloved fist and casual wave of the bat when reaching three figures did not hint at the significance of the moment, nor the repeat after flicking the runs to seal Durham’s victory.

But Emilio Gay’s 159 not out may be the most consequential performance of this weekend in the County Championship.

It sealed a brilliant win against his side’s Division Two title rivals Lancashire – it completed the third highest run-chase in Durham’s first-class history – but also meant, for the second time this season, Gay ensured his name is the one being spoken about.

If the subplot to these early season rounds is the contest to unseat Zak Crawley as England’s Test opener, after captain Ben Stokes encouraged county players to demand selection with their form, then Gay has staked his claim.

His century was his second in three matches this season. He could not have done much more to this point to answer Stokes’ call.

Gay may have been batting at number three against Lancashire, as he has done almost exclusively since moving from Northamptonshire before the start of last season, but he remains an opener by trade.

His place as Durham’s number three is a happy compromise, given the county has captain Alex Lees, a former England opener, and the highly-rated Ben McKinney in its ranks.

He opened for his school, in club cricket, for Northants and, significantly, for England Lions in Australia last winter where he had moderate success before a hamstring injury curtailed his tour.

As the Lions shadowed the first XI’s Ashes shellacking, Gay returned scores of 56 not out against the Prime Ministers’ XI and 78 against a Cricket Australia XI in Perth.

Lions head coach Andrew Flintoff is known to be a big fan.

“I know there’s going to be a lot of talk about him,” said Durham’s coach Ryan Campbell after the Lancashire win. “All we’re talking about is him playing for Durham.

“He was disappointed with his shot in the first innings when he’d done the hard work and he could’ve cashed in. This time he did.”

The first-innings dismissal Campbell mentions was a loose drive to Lancashire seamer Tom Bailey which resulted in an edge being caught at slip. Some would say it was Crawley-esque.

But Gay, who has played for Italy in three T20s having qualified through his maternal grandfather and is also eligible for West Indies via his paternal grandparents, appears to have the all-round game to suit England in their rebirth under Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum.

His team-mate McKinney, another tipped for Crawley’s spot after his 244 against Gloucestershire last week, may have more eye-catching attacking power but Gay has the more balanced set-up.

He mixes classical strokes with a hint of flair and a solid-looking defence.

Gay’s two centuries this year, the first of which came on the season’s opening day, follow four in Division One in Durham’s relegation season last year.

One of those in 2025 came against champions Nottinghamshire and another against Surrey, who finished second.

“Is he good enough? Quite possibly,” said BBC Newcastle commentator Martin Emmerson, who has watched Gay throughout his Durham career.

“Consistency is key, though. While he scored nearly 1,000 runs in Division One last season, there were also five ducks early in the year.”

Gay will have three more Championship matches to further press his case before England’s hierarchy convenes to pick their squad for the first Test of the summer against New Zealand on 4 June.

For the last two of those matches, against Worcestershire and the return at Kent, he will have Stokes in the dressing room, assuming the all-rounder’s recovery from cheek surgery continues as planned.

There are also two four-day Lions fixtures against South Africa A scheduled for late May, with England’s players coming together for a camp in the week in between.

Selections there may reveal plenty.

The first Lions match may be when England get their wish in seeing 22-year-old left-hander James Rew face the new ball.

He is another of the outstanding candidates despite his 379 runs at an average of 75.80 coming in Somerset’s middle order. It is not inconceivable Rew, Gay and McKinney all line up against the Proteas second string.

Over the weekend Haseeb Hameed and Dom Sibley, two openers from England’s past eyeing a recall, also made centuries which muddied the selection waters further.

It does not help that the position of England’s national selector remains vacant – that recruitment process has reached its second stage – but finding context in early-season county batting performance remains difficult, given the lack of similarity between it and the pace and bounce found at Test level.

That is only multiplied when runs flow as they did across this weekend, when all four Division One matches ended in high-scoring draws.

For all of the talk of adapting, England remain keen on batters able to put the best bowlers under pressure and who can deliver on the biggest stage.

What will catch their eye more? Sibley’s 101 from 283 balls in Surrey’s stalemate against Essex or Gay, who thwarted James Anderson and the highly-rated seamer Mitch Stanley to drag Durham from staring at a heavy defeat to victory?

Conversely, Gay’s runs have come in the second division and Lancashire’s attack was tired after four games in four weeks, and Bailey ended the match bowling loopy spin after Lancashire’s request for an injury substitute was rejected.

Context is hard to find but Gay could have done little more.

by CricViz analyst Kieran Parmley

Emilio Gay has slowly pushed himself into England’s consideration over the last few years thanks to his stellar performances at domestic level.

In first-class cricket since the start of 2024, the top-order southpaw is averaging 50.35 across 32 matches, recording eight centuries and eight half-centuries in this timeframe.

Gay notched his unbeaten 159 against Lancashire from the number three spot, however his record when opening the batting will interest England just as much.

The Durham man is averaging 53.21 across 31 innings as a first-class opener since 2024; by comparison, Gay is averaging 44.09 from 22 innings in the number three spot.

As a left-handed opener, right-arm pacers bowling from round the wicket pose an immediate threat to Gay with the new ball.

While Gay generally has a good record against right-arm pace new-ball bowling, his average drops slightly to 29.50 when facing right-arm pacers from round the wicket inside the first 10 overs.

Stylistically, Gay differs slightly from England’s current opening pair when facing the new ball and could signify a shift in mentality at the top of the order.

Gay attacks just 22% of deliveries in overs 1-10, while Duckett attacks 42% and Crawley 34%. Gay tends to defend or leave the ball early on, defending or leaving just under 60% of deliveries against the new ball.

Gay has a dismissal rate of 70 when defending or leaving against the new ball – a significantly better record than current opener Zak Crawley, who is dismissed every 38 deliveries when playing defensively or leaving early on.

Gay is strong playing through the off side against pace, particularly behind square, scoring 29% of his runs against pace behind square on the off side.

As a result, Gay is perhaps slightly weaker down the ground compared to England’s current openers, scoring only 15% of his runs down the ground – current opener Crawley scores 23% of his runs down the ground against pace by comparison.

One small area of concern for England could be Gay’s record against international bowlers during his performances at county level.

While Gay’s recent century came against James Anderson’s Lancashire, he has previously come unstuck against Test-level bowlers.

Since the start of 2024, he is averaging just 21.37 when facing bowlers with a Test cap. Perhaps more relevant to this summer, Gay was dismissed by New Zealand’s Matt Henry in both innings during a county game against Somerset last summer.

As expected in first-class cricket, Gay is vulnerable facing good length deliveries, averaging just 22.51 against length balls.

He has a strong record facing back of a length and short deliveries and unsurprisingly has good numbers playing the pull shot, albeit off a small sample size – scoring 125 runs off 76 pull shots, with just one dismissal.

It’s the business end of the Champions League, where heroes are made and Ballon d’Or winners forged. But which players will prove most pivotal to their team’s success?

This week, with Paris St-Germain facing Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid hosting Arsenal in the semi-finals, we’re looking at those key cogs among the clubs battling for Europe‘s grandest prize.

This is not a list merely of the biggest stars – although many of them feature – but those players whose presence could be vital to their team reaching the final in Budapest.

You can have your say at the bottom of the page too.

10. Matteo Ruggeri (Atletico Madrid)

Matteo Ruggeri has started 11 of Atletico Madrid’s 14 games in this season’s Champions League and, with Diego Simeone’s side up against an Arsenal outfit who beat them 4-0 earlier in the competition, it figures that the left-back will be an important presence in the semi-finals.

The La Liga outfit have used a low block more times than anyone else – 458 times in 14 games – and 23-year-old Italian Ruggeri has played a key role in helping Atletico preserve leads.

He has made more interceptions than any of his team-mates and is third overall in the competition this season with 20, while no Atletico player has won more tackles than the battle-hardened Ruggeri, who finished the return leg against Barcelona with blood seeping from his forehead.

9. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)

Ruggeri was tasked with trying to keep Lamine Yamal quiet during the quarter-finals, and his job this time might be trying to stifle Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka.

The England winger missed more than a month with an Achilles problem, including both legs of the quarter-final win over Sporting, but, given the Gunners struggled to break down the Lisbon outfit in his absence – and taking into account Atletico’s penchant for a low block – Saka may prove key to unlocking their defence.

Opta has Arsenal down as marginal favourites to win the Champions League this season, ahead of Bayern Munich, and Mikel Arteta’s side have been a different beast with Saka in the line-up, averaging 2.6 goals and 2.3 expected goals (xG) per game in the eight matches the 24-year-old has played compared to only 1.5 goals and 1.8 xG on average in the four he missed.

8. Achraf Hakimi (Paris St-Germain)

Legendary Brazilian right-back Cafu recently claimed Achraf Hakimi is the best in the world in that position, and it’s hard to argue given his contributions to Paris St-Germain in the Champions League this campaign.

The Parisiens boast a potent threat on both flanks with Nuno Mendes offering similar output from left-back, but we’ll go with Hakimi as being more important to their attempt at retaining the European crown given Lucas Hernandez has shared the left-back load with Mendes this term.

Bayer Leverkusen’s Alejandro Grimaldo is the only defender to edge Moroccan Hakimi for goal contributions in this season’s competition, making five assists and scoring once.

But Hakimi (7.5 on average per game) and Mendes (7.6) are a long way clear when it comes to defenders who have been involved in the most attacking moves per game.

7. Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)

This could equally have been Aleksandar Pavlovic, who has completed more passes than any of his Bayern Munich team-mates in the Champions League this season and was superb in the win over Real Madrid, but I’ve gone with Joshua Kimmich for his importance to a side who rightfully tend to get most plaudits for their attack.

The 31-year-old midfielder has been key to unleashing that ruthless frontline, with his 19 defensive line-breaking passes the most in Europe’s showpiece competition. He is the only Bayern player in double figures.

Only irrepressible PSG midfielder Vitinha (345) has made more successful passes into the final third than Kimmich (301) and Pavlovic (285), but Kimmich has got the ball into the penalty box more than any other player this season.

6. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Paris St-Germain)

Ousmane Dembele racked up eight goals and six assists in Europe during his Ballon d’Or-winning campaign last season, the record for a PSG player in a season as they clinched the Champions League for the first time.

Yet at the semi-final stage this time around Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is only one shy of that, with his eight goals and five assists putting the Parisiens on course to defend their crown.

The Georgia winger is as effective as he is mesmerising, taunting opposition with a languid but unstoppable dribbling style, socks at half mast on his calves, defenders clawing at the scorched turf left behind him. He’s deadly – and Bayern know it.

5. Michael Olise (Bayern Munich)

From one electrifying winger to another. Michael Olise has been a revelation this season and the only reason he isn’t higher on this list is that Vincent Kompany’s side have a plethora of forward options ready to chip in on the rare occasion the France international is not firing.

Luis Diaz, Serge Gnabry and Lennart Karl have all made a significant contributions behind Harry Kane too.

But that doesn’t take away from just how good Olise has been. The 24-year-old former Crystal Palace and Reading man has completed the third-most dribbles in the competition and is third for big chances created. Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal tops both those metrics.

Most impressively, Olise has racked up 20 goals and 29 assists in all competitions.

4. David Raya (Arsenal)

David Raya is the representative here for that core Arsenal defensive triumvirate which also includes centre-backs William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes.

In the 22 Champions League games the three have started together for Arsenal, they have kept 13 clean sheets and conceded 11 goals.

That means they are only letting a goal slip once every two games on average, and they boast an impressive record of 59% of matches in which they have not conceded at all.

But Raya has stood out for his performances in Europe. He might be renowned for his ability with the ball at his feet, but it was his sublime shot-stopping that kept Arsenal in the quarter-final during the first leg at Sporting.

The 30-year-old Spaniard has saved 90% of shots he has faced in this season’s competition, putting him well clear of his gloved counterparts.

3. Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid)

Atletico Madrid’s trip to Arsenal in the league phase feels a long time ago, but it will stick in their mind not just for the four goals they shipped, but for their struggles in attack.

Atletico produced only 0.32 xG from open play in that defeat and managed only one shot on target, so, if they are to take anything against Arsenal this time around, getting Julian Alvarez in the game will be key.

The Argentina forward has scored nine goals in the competition this season, more than any Atletico player had managed in a Champions League campaign.

He’s also a menace defending from the front, with a mammoth 853 high-intensity pressures – more than anyone else this season. That’s 70 per game on average.

That work ethic, ruthlessness in front of goal and the wizardry to bend a free-kick into the top corner, as Barcelona found out, make the 26-year-old vital to Atletico’s chances of progressing.

2. Vitinha (Paris St-Germain)

Vitinha has already been mentioned several times in this column because he happens to be the yardstick for the best midfielders on the continent.

The diminutive Portugal international, once of Wolves, makes Luis Enrique’s European champions tick. His passing stats put Vitinha in the conversation with Barcelona and Spain great Xavi.

He is streets ahead in terms passes completed in the Champions League this season, never mind passes into the final third and forward passes.

In fact, his 1,370 passes this term are the most in any edition of the competition since Opta started tracking such stats in 2003-04.

Vitinha has completed 100 or more in eight different games this season, which has been topped by only one player – Xavi in a peak Pep Guardiola Barcelona team of 2010-11.

1. Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)

In top spot it has to be Harry Kane. Goals win games, and the England captain has scored 53 of them in 45 games in all competitions for Bayern Munich this season.

The most prolific forward on the continent right now has netted in his past four Champions League knockout games. His 12 goals are the most by an English player in a season of Europe’s top competition.

A first European trophy is on the line but also potentially the prize of being named the world’s best player. It’s a Ballon d’Or-worthy season from the 32-year-old, but Kane will know that individual accolade often only comes with team success.

Kane’s presence is crucial to Bayern and he is the star who could have the biggest say on which cabinet the Champions League trophy ends up in.

Sabastian Sawe has always had a propensity to surprise.

Having never competed on the road, the Kenyan began the 2022 Seville half marathon as a pacemaker, proceeded to drop everybody within the first 10km, and carried on to claim victory in a course record time.

Running the second-fastest marathon debut in history in Valencia in 2024, Sawe again hinted at his potential.

That time of two hours two minutes five seconds was only 12 seconds slower than the late Kelvin Kiptum’s first marathon two years earlier, before Kiptum went on to break the world record in Chicago in 2023.

There were signs.

But they were far from sufficient to prepare anyone for the momentous occasion which unfolded on a perfect April morning in London on Sunday.

Sporting immortality, secured in 1:59:30.

Speaking to BBC Sport 24 hours after making history as the first person to run a sub-two-hour marathon in a competitive race, Sawe said the time came as a surprise even to him, with his focus primarily on retaining his title.

“It was not in my mind. I was well prepared for this year’s London Marathon, but what comes surprised me because I was not thinking to run a world record.”

But Sawe, 30, says he can go even faster.

“It was possible to run faster yesterday,” he said. “Even 1:58 is possible.”

Sawe, born in Kenya’s Rift Valley, where his father worked as a maize farmer, declared it “a day to remember” after obliterating Kiptum’s world record by 65 seconds.

Others searched for the words to pay appropriate tribute to an accomplishment once considered impossible.

“Nobody thought that a sub-two-hour marathon under World Athletics conditions would be done in their lifetime,” London Marathon race director Hugh Brasher told BBC Sport.

“This is an unbelievable day for sport. It is sport and history in the making.”

Former women’s marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe said: “We’ve witnessed history being made, but it is more than that.

“It is an iconic barrier that there has been this discussion over for a long time about whether it is even possible.”

Sawe had to remain patient for his breakthrough, one which at times appeared might never come.

Raised predominantly by his grandmother, he moved to Iten to pursue his running ambitions in 2017, but his time in Kenya’s ‘home of champions’ failed to produce the desired results.

It was at a point when his dreams could not have felt further away that he was introduced to the man who has assisted him to greatness – Italian coach Claudio Berardelli.

As injury and the postponement of races caused by the coronavirus pandemic left Sawe struggling to make a living through running, his uncle, Uganda’s 800m record holder Abraham Chepkirwok, put him in touch.

It proved a pivotal intervention.

Berardelli, an esteemed coach in Kenya who has described Sawe as a “special one”, instantly recognised his marathon potential and moved him away from the track.

He says Sawe, whose success he puts down to physiological advantages paired with an excellent attitude, is far from reaching his full potential only four races into his marathon career.

Sawe backed up his 2:02:05 debut with major victories in London and Berlin in 2025 – in 2:02:27 and 2:02:16 respectively – and had targeted the world record in the latter before that bid was ended by the 25C heat.

Sawe achieved his world record in London despite suffering a stress fracture in his foot following Berlin, while a back issue which left him “almost giving up” in January delayed his preparations until early February.

It is also notable that he ran the historic time in London, a course considered slower than Berlin and Chicago and which had not witnessed a men’s world record since 2002.

The great Eliud Kipchoge became the first man to run a marathon in under two hours in 2019, on a course with only 2.4 metres of incline, which was not record-eligible as it was held under controlled conditions.

Even more astonishing in London was that debutant Yomif Kejelcha also went sub-two, and half marathon world record holder Jacob Kiplimo also beat Kiptum’s former record.

Kipchoge wrote on Instagram: “Today is a historical day for marathon running!

“Seeing two athletes break the magical two-hour barrier at London Marathon is the proof that we are just at the beginning of what is possible when talent, progress and an unwavering belief in the human potential come together.

“My deepest congratulations to both Sabastian Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha. Breaking the sub-two-hour barrier in the marathon has long been a dream for runners everywhere, and today you’ve made that dream come true.”

At the finish line, Sawe held up sponsors Adidas’ latest ‘supershoe’ with his time written along the side, acknowledging the technology which had assisted him.

The Adidas Adios Pro 3 shoes, available to purchase for an eye-watering £450, weigh just 97g – 30% lighter than the previous model.

The company claims they deliver an 11% greater forefoot energy return and improve running economy by 1.6% compared to its predecessor. Tigst Assefa also wore the shoes in breaking the women’s record on Sunday.

To benefit from those statistics, however, Sawe runs about 200km per week – averaging almost 30km every day – at altitude, and credited his increase in volume as one of the key factors in his progress.

Developments in fuelling have also aided progress in endurance events. Sawe reportedly took on 115g of carbohydrates per hour during the race, following a breakfast consisting of two slices of bread with honey and tea.

It all combined to allow him to cover 26.2 miles at an average pace of 2:50 mins/km, or 4:33 mins/mile, including a 5km split of 13:42 from 35-40km as he sped up towards the finish.

However, amid the spate of high-profile doping cases involving Kenyan athletes, including women’s marathon world record holder Ruth Chepngetich, he has also had an awareness for the need to instil confidence in these performances.

Determined to prove he is competing clean, Adidas provided $50,000 (£36,900) to the Athletics Integrity Unit, the sport’s anti-doping body, to frequently test Sawe over a 12-month period.

That began with a reported 25 out-of-competition tests in the lead-up to Berlin in September, continuing at a similar rate as he prepared for London.

Sawe said on Monday: “It’s very important to me because it gets out the doubt in my career of athletics and yesterday’s performance.

“It shows Sabastian Sawe is clean. It shows running clean is good, and we can run clean and we can run faster.

“It keeps the awareness that Sabastian Sawe is not to be doubted, and he is a clean athlete.”

Wherever Sawe goes next, with his coach backing his claim that there is more to come, the world will be watching.

Netherlands attacking midfielder Xavi Simons said he was “heartbroken” after being ruled out for the rest of the season for relegation-battling Tottenham and this summer’s World Cup because of a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.

Simons was carried off on a stretcher in the second half of Tottenham’s 1-0 win at Wolves on Saturday.

The 23-year-old fell to the ground following a collision with Wolves defender Hugo Bueno. After initially getting to his feet, he went down again.

Spurs confirmed Simons will have surgery in the coming weeks.

“They say life can be cruel and today it feels that way,” Simons wrote in a social media post.

“My season has come to an abrupt end and I’m just trying to process it. Honestly, I’m heartbroken. None of it makes sense.”

Partial tears or ruptures to the ACL typically lead to players being unavailable for between six and nine months as they recover.

“We can confirm that Xavi Simons has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee,” said a Tottenham statement., external

“Xavi will undergo surgery in the coming weeks and, following that, will then begin his rehabilitation with our medical team.”

The injury to Simons comes as Spurs fight for Premier League survival.

Despite beating Wolves, they remain in the relegation zone and are two points from safety with four games left.

The 2026 World Cup, which is taking place in the United States, Canada and Mexico, begins on 11 June, with the Netherlands starting their campaign in Group F against Japan on 14 June.

“All I’ve wanted to do is fight for my team and now the ability to do that has been snatched away from me… along with the World Cup,” added Simons.

“Representing my country this summer just gone. It’ll take time to find peace with this, but I’ll continue to be the best team-mate I can be. I have no doubt that together we’ll win this fight.

“I’ll walk this path now, guided by faith, with strength, with resilience, with belief, as I count down the days to getting back out there.

“Be patient with me.”

Simons joined Tottenham from RB Leipzig for £52m last summer and has made 28 league appearances for the club this season, including 19 starts.

He has scored two goals in the top flight and registered five assists but has struggled to make a major impact during a season in which the club have parted ways with managers Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor, who was in interim charge, before appointing Roberto de Zerbi.

Simons joins a lengthy Spurs injury list heading into their final four Premier League games against Aston Villa, Leeds United, Chelsea and Everton.

Striker Dominic Solanke also went off injured at Wolves, while Ben Davies, Mohammed Kudus, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Wilson Odobert and Cristian Romero are all sidelined.

Simons’ influence on Tottenham has been clear.

When he plays, Spurs look sharper and more threatening in the final third. His presence raises the tempo, links midfield to attack and forces opponents to adjust to Spurs rather than the other way around.

His season-ending injury removes one of their most important attacking figures at a pivotal moment.

Results highlight the gap he leaves.

Spurs win a higher percentage of Premier League matches when Simons starts and average more goals – scoring 1.5 per game compared with one when he is not in the starting XI.

Recent displays underline the scale of his contribution.

In the 2-2 draw with Brighton and the 1-0 win over Wolves – their first victory of 2026 – Simons created more chances (four) than any other Spurs player and led the side for shots (six). He was also among the top contributors for touches in the box, ball carries and completed passes.

Those figures show how he drives Spurs forward and sustains pressure in advanced areas. Without that the risk is Spurs lose a key source of control in matches where small margins could shape their season.

The challenge is heightened by what comes next.

Spurs face Aston Villa and Chelsea – both chasing Champions League places – then meet Leeds, who are not yet safe, before a final-day trip to Everton, where David Moyes may still be pushing for Europe.