Phil Foden is one of England's best young footballing talents and has already scooped a large haul of silverware at Manchester City.

Foden has been nicknamed "The Stockport Iniesta" in reference to the Barcelona legend, who scored the winning goal for Spain in the 2010 FIFA World Cup final.

It is testament to the young City midfielder's ability that he has been compared to Iniesta, who was considered to be one of the greatest footballers of his generation. Indeed, Foden too is widely regarded as one of his generation's finest.

By the time he was 22, Foden had already picked up a clutch of trophies including the Champions League, the Premier League five times, the EFL trophy four times, two FA Cup winners' medals, as well as being named PFA Young Player of the Year twice.

In 2024, he was named the Football Writers’ Association men’s Player of the Year.

 

Phil Foden and Manchester City

Born in Stockport, Greater Manchester, Foden was a boyhood Manchester City supporter and joined the club at U9 level.

The left-footed midfielder played for City in the final of the 2016/17 FA Youth Cup final against Chelsea, scoring in the first leg. However, Chelsea were the eventual winners of the tournament.

The 2016/17 U18 Premier League saw Foden score 11 times for City, establishing himself as one of the club's brightest prospects -- indeed one of his country's too.

Guardiola included Foden in his squad for the UEFA Champions League clash with Celtic in December 2016, with the Catalan manager making an early statement of intent with regards to the young English midfielder's future prospects.

Ultimately, the match finished in a 1-1 draw and Foden was an unused substitute, but he did not let that deter him or hinder his progress.

In July 2017, Foden was included in City's first team squad for their pre-season tour of the United States. He performed well in a 2-0 defeat to Manchester United and started a 4-1 win over Real Madrid.

Foden replaced Yaya Toure off the bench in a UEFA Champions League clash with Feyenoord to make his senior Manchester City debut on 21 November 2017.

On 6 December of that year, Foden became the youngest English player to start a Champions League match at the age of 17 years and 192 days. He broke the record previously held by former Chelsea midfielder Josh McEachran. City lost the match 2-1 to Shakhtar Donetsk.

On 25 February 2018, Foden came on as a substitute for Sergio Aguero in City's 3-0 League Cup final win over Arsenal. At the end of the season, he became the youngest ever player to win a Premier League medal, as he made a total of five appearances in City's record-breaking campaign - the only one which has ever seen a Premier League outfit amass 100 points.

In the 2018/19 season, Foden's involvement in the team became more central. He made a total of 26 appearances in all competitions, scoring seven goals. City retained their Premier League and League Cup titles and also won the FA Cup, meaning that they picked up a domestic treble.

Foden scored his first Premier League goal on 20 April 2019 in a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur, becoming the third-youngest player to score for the club.

The 2019/20 season was a largely disappointing one for City as Liverpool beat them to the Premier League title and they were eliminated by Olympique Lyon in a shock UEFA Champions League quarter-final exit.

However, Foden's involvement in the team increased and he won the Community Shield and the League Cup. He was man of the match in the final of the latter as City beat Aston Villa 2-1. In total, Foden played 38 games in 2019/20 and registered eight goals and nine assists.

The 2020/21 season saw Foden feature even more in an injury-hit City squad as he helped them on a 21-match winning streak.

City soared clear at the top of the Premier League table after a difficult start to the campaign and eventually won the trophy by twelve points from local rivals Manchester United. Although they did lose the final of the Champions League to Chelsea, Foden's first loss at a major final.

Foden was named in the UEFA Champions League Squad of the season and won the Premier League Young Player of the Season and PFA Young Player of the Year awards.

He continued to lift more silverware in the 2021/22 season as City claimed the Premier League again, with Foden netting nine goals in the competition. Once again he collected the PFA Young Player of the Year and the Premier League Young Player of the Season awards.

Foden was part of the City side that won the Treble in the 2022/23 season.

 

Phil Foden and England national team

Foden scored in the final of the 2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship as England suffered defeat to Spain on penalties. Nevertheless, England bounced back and Foden scored twice in the final of the U17 World Cup against Spain as England won the tournament. Foden was named best player of the tournament.

At the 2019 UEFA U21 Championships, Foden scored his first goal at that age level for England in a 2-1 defeat to France.

Foden made his senior debut for the England national team on 5 September 2020 in a 1-0 away UEFA Nations League victory over Iceland.

Two days later, Foden and Mason Greenwood were axed from England's squad for breaking COVID-19 protocols, bringing at least one guest into England's hotel.

After collecting his third international cap he scored his first two England goals against Iceland in the Nations League in November 2020.

Foden was called up to Gareth Southgate's Euro 2020 squad and started in England's opening win against Croatia, as well as in the 0-0 draw against Scotland. He also came on during the 2-1 win over Denmark in the semi-finals.

He was an unused subsitute in the final, where England fell to Italy in a penalty shootout.

Foden was called up for England's 2022 World Cup squad in Qatar, and scored the second goal in the 3-0 group stage win over Wales.

 

Phil Foden personal life

In January 2019, Foden became a father as his girlfriend, Rebecca Cooke, gave birth to a son, Ronnie.

He and his partner had a daughter in 2021.

 

Phil Foden net worth

In October 2022, Foden has signed a three-year contract extension with Manchester City, which tripled his weekly wage to over £200,000-a-week.