Kalvin Phillips serenaded his Manchester City team-mate John Stones with an X-rated chant during the team's open-top bus parade.
City flew back from partying in Ibiza on a private jet to attend a parade around Manchester on Monday night, two days after completing the Treble by beating Inter Milan in the Champions League final. The squad looked a little worse for wear when they got off the plane at Manchester airport, having spent 48 hours celebrating their achievement.
After travelling around the city centre on the bus, pouring champagne over each other and enjoying themselves with the fans, they got on stage to address an audience of supporters. Each player was introduced and Phillips used his turn on the microphone to lead a rendition of a song about his England team-mate Stones.
Wearing dark sunglasses and a Man City bucket hat and clutching two bottles of beer, the former Leeds midfielder sang, to the tune of Daddy Cool by Boney M: “Johnny, Johnny Stones, Johnny, Johnny Stones. He gets the Blues excited, he f***ing hates United!”
By winning the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup, City have equalled United’s historic Treble from 1999. And Stones was a key part of Pep Guardiola’s side over the 2022/23 season, growing into a hybrid role in midfield and defence.
Stones is a favourite among City fans, who have been treated to some quality passing, as well as defending. Guardiola has spoken in glowing terms of the England international too of late.
“He is an incredible player,” he said after the FA Cup final win over United. “Stones has the quality to pass the ball and he can arrive into the attacking positions to control the play.”
Phillips, Stones and their England team-mates Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden won’t be able to continue partying for much longer. The group will soon have to travel to St George’s Park to join up with Gareth Southgate’s squad, who have Euro 2024 qualifiers coming up.
England travel to Malta on Friday before hosting North Macedonia at Old Trafford on Monday. While it’s unlikely they will play a part in the Malta match, they are still expected to train with the squad over the coming week.
Speaking to BT Sport in Istanbul, Stones reflected on the importance of winning the Champions League for City. "It was the thing we were missing. I feel so pleased. It's a pleasure to be a part of this team and create this history,” he said.
"We're only the second team to do the Treble. Both are so special in their own rights in different eras. I'm holding words back because I'm on camera, put it that way.
"We've set the bar high now. After this season, from where we were in the Premier League, to bring it back, win the FA Cup then come here and win this, I can't put it into words.”
