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Benjamin Mendy revealed that Manchester City players have been winding up John Stones for weeks about a Port Vale player’s insulting comment.

Tom Pope made headlines when a tweet he made in the summer, during England ’s defeat by Holland in the European Nations League semi-final, was re-circulated after the Blues drew the League Two side in the FA Cup .

Pope claimed he would score 40 goals a season if he could play against Stones every week after the defender’s mistake which gifted Holland an equaliser, following it with the hashtag “weakasp***”.

The 34-year-old stepped back from his comment after the draw, saying he was making the point that Stones is not a physical defender, the type he prefers to play against.

The two men went head to head in yesterday’s tie, Pope backing up his comment by scoring an equaliser, but City coming out on top 4-1.

After the game, Pope said City players had “pied” him, ignoring requests for shirt swaps, but he ended up getting Aleks Zinchenko’s shirt.

City invited the Vale players into their dressing room afterwards, but again Pope was cold-shouldered, by Stones and others.

"They all dragged me in, the Man City players, but John wouldn't speak to me. It was a little bit awkward. He wasn't happy," he said.

Pope later took to Twitter again to have another pop at Stones, tweeting "I’d just like to say I was completely wrong and bang out of order to say I’d score 40 a season..... it’s more like 50."

Manager Pep Guardiola had said on the day before the game that Pope’s comment was “not nice at all”, but had gone on to suggest that Stones does have to improve aspects of his game to become a world-class defender.

One man who did speak to Pope was Mendy, as the striker later revealed:

“I spoke to Mendy and he said all their players had battered him for weeks about it and they got him that wound up about it, and then obviously I've scored and he's probably devastated.

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“But no, it was only banter and people have dug it up because we've drawn Man City. All of a sudden it's everywhere and people have been on my case about it.

“But he's a world-class centre half. I was just saying he wasn't very physical and that's it - if people think I'm wrong, well, I don't care.

“It was only banter but at the end of the day I know what it’s like when you have all your teammates hammering you about something. I’m sure he will forgive me.”