City confirm a four-man released list — and the end of an era with it

Manchester City have finalised their out-of-contract exits, submitting a four-man released list following the 2025/26 season and clearing meaningful wage space in the process.

Premier League confirmation formalises the departures of Bernardo Silva and John Stones when their contracts expire on 30 June 2026. From the academy, two players on professional deals — Ezra Carrington and Ashton Muir — will also leave.

Administratively it is a routine filing. In practice it closes the most decorated dressing-room era in modern English football, arriving alongside Pep Guardiola's own exit after a decade in charge.

Both senior departures went out on a high, playing central roles in a domestic cup double in their final season and getting the send-off an open-top bus parade and arena party provides.

The rebuild is already running in parallel. Hugo Viana is handling the market, including a contested pursuit of Nottingham Forest's Elliot Anderson that City have been fighting Manchester United for — because the space left by two irreplaceable figures has to be filled by somebody, and quickly.