World Leaks

JOHN STONES has opened up about the challenging times he has faced at Manchester City.

The defender revealed he even considered to quit playing for the reigning Premier League champions.

An emotional interview with BBC saw England icon Stones speak up on the dark times he has experienced during his senior career at City.

In 2020, Stones faced several challenges that limited his playing time at the club. 

As he struggled with multiple injuries his form and confidence took a hit leading to a drop in the pecking order under Pep Guardiola as City signed new defenders, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake.

He said: “Maybe over a year period I wasn’t playing here [Man City]. Wasn’t playing for England.

“A really low time. And I didn’t know what to do at the start. I was obviously struggling with not playing. Mentally tough – you start doubting yourself massively.”

Stones managed only 16 starts in all competitions during the 2019-2020 season.

He continued: “I thought you know I’ve got two roads to go down: accept that and move on or stay and fight.

“You know I wanted to prove to myself that I was good enough and deserved to be here.

“Went back to the drawing board really and worked harder. I looked at every aspect in my life, down to my food, down to my gym, sleep.

“You know I looked at everything I could to become a better player and a better version of myself. Fortunately it worked out.”

And the 30-year-old was not wrong – it did work out.

Since 2020 Stones has won four Premier Leagues, the Champions League and the FA Cup.

He was also a part of Pep Guardiola’s historic treble-winning squad in the 2022-23 season.

And this summer Stones was a key man in Gareth Southgate‘s Euro 2024 team who fell short of victory to Spain in the final.

After he arrived in Manchester from Everton in 2016 the Englishman has made over 259 appearances for City and is one of Guardiola’s star players.

THE Champions League is on again tonight with some thrilling action to kick off the brand new league phase.

Man City vs Inter Milan is the pick of the games, while Celtic, PSG and last season’s finalists Borussia Dortmund are also in action.

Liverpool got the better of European rivals AC Milan as they ran out 3-1 winners at the San Siro on the first night.

Meanwhile, Harry Kane netted FOUR in Bayern Munich’s 9-2 win over Dinamo Zagreb and Aston Villa ended their 41-year wait for elite European football with a 3-0 win at Young Boys.

• Kick off times: 5.45pm/8pm BST
• TV channels: TNT Sports/Amazon Prime Video
• Live stream: discovery+

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AFTER falling in love over a decade ago, Ederson and his wife Lais remain one of football’s golden couples.

Their love story started when they were in their early twenties, and now sees them share three children.

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Ederson and his wife Lais have been together over a decade[/caption]

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Lais has an army of followers on Instagram[/caption]

As Man City’s goalkeeper Ederson‘s life has soared on the football pitch, he’s had his devoted wife right by his side.

Stunning brunette Lais has been a firm fixture at the stadium, watching the keeper become one of the best in the Premier League.

Born on December 1, 1994, the Portuguese beauty has amassed her own loyal fans over the years.

Lais has a huge following on her Instagram handle, where she keeps her fans up-to-date with her glamourous life with her footballer husband, Ederson.

Young love

The couple met in her native Portugal in 2013 and, following a whirlwind romance, they wed a year later.

Brazilian Ederson was playing for Rio Ave at the time the couple met.

They were both young when they got married, he was 21 and she was 20.

The couple later moved to Lisbon after Ederson returned to Benfica.

They then relocated to Manchester following his £35million move to Manchester City.

Following their nuptials, the couple shared their cheesy wedding video.

In the clip, the pair can be seen kissing and smiling at each other as acoustic music plays in the background.

It also included several slow-motion shots as they stared into each other’s eyes.

It wasn’t love at first sight

Despite their long relationship, Lais previously revealed that she didn’t fall for goal keeper straight away.

She wrote: “It was not love at first sight, I never imagined that it would be you… who would have the keys of my heart.

“That would become so important to me, that I would live with so many beautiful things by my side and would be part of the my story.”

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The couple share three children together[/caption]

One big happy family

They couple live in a huge mansion in Manchester with their three children.

They have son called Henrique and two daughters called Yazmin and Laura.

If that was’t enough the happy family have four adorable dogs.

MARRIED At First Sight expert Charlene Douglas has teased that there may well be sad news to come for one of the couples, as she opened up on moment they “weren’t prepared for.”

Now in its ninth episode, MAFS UK returned to screens this week, with its fair share of awkward introductions and drama from the off.

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Married At First Sight expert Charlene Douglas has teased that there may well be sad news to come for one of the couples, as she opened up on moment they weren’t prepared for[/caption]

Matt Monfredi / Channel 4

Charlene also shared what it’s like as an expert to pick who will marry who[/caption]

But as those appearing on the show attempt to navigate the complex road of finding true love, Charlene says there is a moment that will shock viewers.

Asked whether she has a favourite couple on the show, Charlene told The Sun: “All I’ll say is there is a moment in this year’s series where the experts become quite sad and upset.

“There are certainly going to be some surprises down the line, and nothing really prepares us for it.”

Charlene also touched on the pairing process, which sees herself, Paul C. Brunson and Mel Schilling deciding which brides will marry which grooms.

She admitted it is difficult to decide, adding: “We’re all really opinionated of course. So there are definitely times where, you know, we want to sort of push one person with another person, and then the others are like, ‘No, I don’t think that would be a great match.’

“So there’s a whole lot of work that goes into it. A lot of discussion, a lot of jokes and humour.

“And then we get to a point where we’re like, ‘OK, no, this this is right. This feels right.’

“And I think with all of the couples, we felt like we’d really got the right pairings.”

This week on the show, horrified viewers were left hiding behind their sofas during one of the nuptials.

Nathan, who has ADHD, was seen marrying Lacey in a fairytale ceremony and initially it appeared they would be a good match.

However, things got off to a bad start on their big day when he caught the eye of her mum AND when he then eyed up Lacey’s twin sister Paige.

Nathan got Lacey’s back up by simply telling her she looked “nice” when she did appear before him, before vowing never to let her leave the house “in something hideous”.

Things went from bad to worse at the reception too, thanks to Lacey’s so-called friends telling her Nathan fancied Paige.

One fan wrote on X: “This has to be the most awkward wedding in the history of awkward weddings.”

Elsewhere sparks flew for all the right reasons as same-sex couple Charlie and Eve tied the knot.

MAFS UK is a ratings success, averaging two million viewers per episode last year, thanks to the mix of high-stakes romance and awkward introductions.

Matt Monfedi/Channel 4

The series has kicked off with its fair share of drama[/caption]

NETFLIX miniseries The Perfect Couple stars Oscar winner Nicole Kidman – but fans are fixated on a very specific detail.

Nicole, 57, appears opposite Ray Donovan star Liev Schreiber, 56, as married couple Greer and Tag Winbury.

COURTESY OF NETFLIX

Nicole Kidman stars in Netflix miniseries The Perfect Couple[/caption]

HILARY BRONWYN GAYLE/NETFLIX

Ray Donovan actor Liev Schreiber plays her on-screen husband in the show[/caption]

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Viewers speculated potential awkwardness due to Nicole’s close friendship with Liev’s ex partner Naomi Watts[/caption]

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Naomi and Liev were together from 2005 to 2016, welcoming two children[/caption]

Viewers speculated how their steamy scenes might be awkward, due to Nicole’s close friendship with Liev’s ex partner Naomi Watts.

Taking to X, one person wrote: “I need more discourse on what the vibe was between Nicole & Liev on set – given that he is split from her bestie Naomi…”

Another added: “Watching episode 1 of The Perfect Couple and suddenly remembered that Liev Schreiber, who plays Nicole’s husband in the show was in a relationship with Naomi Watts, one of Nicole’s closest friends. like whoaaaa.”

A third remarked: “Starting Perfect Couple and just wondering the dynamic between [Liev Schreiber] and Nicole Kidman since that’s is the bff of his ex wife (Naomi Watts).”

Liev and Naomi were together from 2005 to 2016, although they never married.

During their relationship, the actors welcomed two children together.

According to US outlet Entertainment Weekly, Nicole reached out to her pal prior to playing onscreen spouses with her former beau.

“We always check in, we’re besties”, Naomi told the publication, before adding: “That was very kind of her to do that.”

Some viewers also made sure to point out this information.

One wrote online: “The fact that Nicole asked Naomi if it was ok to ask Liev Schreiber to be her husband in The Perfect Couple and she was like… of course! awee.”

A synopsis for The Perfect Couple reads: “Everyone is a suspect when a body washes ashore hours before a lavish, high-society wedding at the Nantucket estate of a wealthy and respected family.”

The series is an adaptation of Elin Hilderbrand’s 2018 novel of the same name.

Nicole’s character Greer, a famous novelist and Liev’s character Tag, are parents of the groom Benji (Billy Howle) who head up the affluent family.

The clan also includes other sons Thomas (Jack Reynor) and Will (Sam Nivola), as well as Thomas’ pregnant wife Abby (Dakota Fanning).

Viewers have had divided opinions, however, as one penned on X: “I’m gonna keep trying to watch The Perfect Couple on Netflix. But i truly hate a limited series that could have been a movie.”

Another remarked: “The Perfect Couple is a guilty pleasure.

“Meaning it’s not necessarily good, but you just keep watching, the bad acting is so attractive that you want to see how it ends.”

The Perfect Couple is streaming on Netflix.

SEACIA PAVAO/NETFLIX

It was reported Nicole reached out to her pal before playing on-screen spouses with her ex[/caption]

According to reports, the illegal tactic costs New York City up to $200 million annually.

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