This was an afternoon that was seemingly geared towards making as many people cry as possible, and they gave it a good go.Manchester City’s game against Aston Villa was the ultimately disappointing precursor to the farewell party for John Stones, Bernardo Silva and Pep Guardiola.Oh, and Ilkay Gundogan and Ederson, who had been invited back for proper send-offs, too. Oh, and Fernandinho, who departed four years ago, on the chaotic day here when City came back from 2-0 down to beat Villa 3-2 and clinch the title.There was no such thrilling comeback here as Villa won 2-1. In fact, if the game was an homage to any of the past 10 years, it was the horror against Tottenham in the Champions League quarter-final in 2019, when Raheem Sterling’s late strike was ruled out by VAR. Today, it was Phil Foden’s thumping finish, an emotional goal in its own right, cruelly taken away.This day was never about the football, though, and the tears started before kick-off, with Bernardo breaking down in the tunnel before he even led the team out. They positively flowed in the 58th minute as he came off to a guard of honour that Guardiola had to step away from to wipe his eyes. As the lines of players and substitutes dispersed, a teary Bernardo sought out his manager, and they hugged, and cried, in the technical area. “I don’t cry,” said Guardiola, “but when I see Bernardo cry, I cry.”Bernardo Silva was overcome by emotion (Darren Staples / AFP via Getty Images)Stones has barely been able to stop crying for the past few days, from his farewell interview with the club on Thursday to the unveiling of his mosaic at the training ground on Saturday. He did not seem as emotional as Bernardo as he made his way through his own guard of honour, the second of the 90 minutes which resulted in 10 minutes of added time, either.After the final whistle, television coverage shown inside the stadium showed two fans consoling their friend, who looked overcome, and that was well before the players had come back out onto the pitch, with framed shirts and replicas of the mosaics, which have been installed at the training ground over the past few days, on display.John Stones bid farewell to the fans at the Etihad stadium (Carl Recine/Getty Images)Before those, Gundogan and Ederson, who left in the middle of last summer with little fanfare, were welcomed back for a proper goodbye. They made their way through their own guards of honour, where Guardiola waited for them at the end with a framed shirt featuring their name and number of appearances.“It’s been the privilege of my life,” Gundogan said. “Thank you.”Gundogan got his mosaic at the training ground after his first departure in 2023, but Ederson never did. His depicts his one-against-one save from Lautaro Martinez in the Champions League final. Bernardo’s is his celebration against Real Madrid in the semi-finals that year, and Stones’ his goal-line clearance against Liverpool in a pivotal match in 2019.Stones and Bernardo got their second guard of honour of the day, too. The stadium announcer beckoned Stones for his, and the City staff sent out Bernardo’s dog, named John after his great friend.“I don’t think I will ever receive the same love again in my life,” Bernardo said.“All the memories that we had together with my brothers, with the staff. This is a family, it will forever be a family and I’m really grateful.”Stones stirred the emotions as he declared: ‘This will always be my home. Thank you so much for all the memories and I hope we made everyone’s dreams come true.”Bernardo Silva and John Stones (Carl Recine/Getty Images)The two club legends were then urged to look towards the big screens, to see the recorded messages sent in by chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and various City legends.“I wish you the best,” said Sergio Aguero, switching from Spanish to English. “And they are legends, like me!”David Silva joked that they had both been lucky to learn from him in their younger days. Vincent Kompany, in his Bayern Munich tracksuit, sat back and reminded Stones how he had “blossomed” from a ball-playing defender to one who relished nose-breaking challenges.Fabian Delph, Manuel Akanji, Aymeric Laporte, Leroy Sane, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Scott Carson, Stefan Ortega, Mike Summerbee, Kyle Walker, Pablo Zabaleta, Txiki Begiristain and Kevin De Bruyne sent their warmest wishes, too.For many of those present, players and fans, these last 10 years have been the best of their lives. What may have made the afternoon more even emotional is the realisation of that, and perhaps the realisation that things will never quite be the same again.It was a day to say goodbye but also a day to reflect on some of the best days of their lives, other than wedding days and births of children, of course. Days like Gabriel Jesus’ late winner at Southampton that took them past the 100-point mark, or taking seats at Wembley just in time for Ilkay Gundogan’s 12-second goal against United, of Nevizade Street on a Friday night, of Rodri’s strike hitting the back of the net in the Champions League final in Istanbul.Relationships have started and ended over these 10 years, boys and girls have been taken to their first games and grown into young men and women, loved ones no longer with us will have seen City reach new heights.The last 10 years have been, not just in football but in many cases real life, a dream. This has not been normal. City have been in the remarkable position of being able to rely on sunny days essentially for the whole time. The content department have rarely had to wait for a good day to put out an interview, social media feeds have been constantly topped up with ‘good vibes’ training pics, Puma have brought out various clothing lines. Other clubs can very successfully trade off the past, City have been able to trade off the present.Sunday is not necessarily an end to those times, but it is an end to this period. Only Foden, who properly broke into the team halfway through, remains of those who arrived in Manchester for their golden era. Stones came in 2016, Bernardo 2017. After last year’s exodus of Ederson, Walker, De Bruyne and Gundogan, it all feels rather sudden.Mostly so because Guardiola, the biggest constant, the one who has held it all together, is saying goodbye. He has not just become part of City history, nor even simply football history. He has made a mark on Manchester and impacted people across the globe for standing up for what he believes in.Pep Guardiola wipes away a tear during the farewell celebrations (Darren Staples / AFP via Getty Images)He, too, has been in tears for days. He could not hold them back during celebrations of Saturday’s FA Cup final against Chelsea, he broke down when telling his players and staff on Friday that this season would be his last, and even choked up while speaking to journalists later that day.This time, he held it together, despite being constantly interrupted by chants of ‘We’ve got Guardiola’, and ‘10 more years’. “That is only for Erling,” he said, referencing Haaland’s huge contract.He was again told that the club’s newly developed north stand will be named after him, and that he will get a statue outside it.“My dad is here in the stands, 95 years old,” he said. “Maybe he doesn’t realise but I’m pretty sure… Cris (his wife), and my kids realise that in many, many years, this stand that looks really beautiful, the name of my family will be there for many years. That is the hugest honour I could receive from my club.“I’m pretty sure that Khaldoon made immense pressure to deliver this immense honour that I will have for the rest of my life. The players don’t know it but I will be there controlling them to continue to make the performances of the legacy players like, Fernandinho, Bernardo, John, all the players on the screen. They have a huge responsibility to maintain these standards.”He closed with two final messages.“One more thing before you go home to take some beers or wines, if in the next years you find me in the streets here, in Europe, or in the States or wherever, and you are a City fan, come to me and hug me.“Let me finish by saying what I said a few days ago, it has been f***ing fun.”