Phil Foden

Manchester City

Early life and career

Philip Walter Foden, the son of Claire Foden, was born on 28 May 2000 in Stockport, Greater Manchester, and was a boyhood supporter of Manchester City. He joined the club at the age of eight and signed his Academy scholarship in July 2016. He was privately educated at St Bede's College, with his tuition fees being paid for by Manchester City. On 6 December 2016, City manager Pep Guardiola included Foden in the matchday squad for the UEFA Champions League group stage match with Celtic; he was an unused substitute in the 1–1 home draw.

2017–18 season

After making several appearances on the bench at the start of the 2017–18 season, Foden made his Manchester City debut on 21 November 2017 in a Champions League game against Feyenoord, coming on in the 75th minute for Yaya Touré. He became the fourth-youngest English player to make an appearance in the Champions League (17 years 177 days). On 6 December, Foden broke the record previously held by Josh McEachran to become the youngest English player, at the age of 17 years and 192 days, to start a Champions League match, doing so in a 2–1 defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk. On 20 October 2020, Jude Bellingham, aged 17 years and 113 days, broke Phil Foden's record to become the youngest Englishman to start a Champions League match. Foden also became the first player born in the year 2000 to start a match in the competition. He made his Premier League debut as a substitute…

Youth

In May 2017, Foden scored in the final of the 2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship as the England under-17s suffered a penalty shoot-out defeat at the hands of Spain. In October of the same year, Foden gained widespread press attention after scoring twice in the final of the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, also against Spain, as England won the competition. He was named as the best player of the tournament. He won the FIFA U-17 World Cup Golden Ball award in 2017 where he also gained some widespread press attention and significant media coverage. On 27 May 2019, Foden was included in England's 23-man squad for the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship and scored an impressive goal — his first for the U21s — in the opening 2–1 defeat to France in Cesena.

Senior

Debut and UEFA Euro 2020

On 25 August 2020, Gareth Southgate named Foden in the England senior team for the first time. He made his international debut against Iceland on 5 September 2020, in a 1–0 away victory in the UEFA Nations League tournament. On 7 September, Foden, alongside England teammate Mason Greenwood, was withdrawn from the England squad due to breaking the team's COVID-19 isolation protocols by bringing at least one guest to their team hotel in Iceland. Manchester City condemned Foden's actions. Foden scored his first and second goals for England during a UEFA Nations League match against Iceland at Wembley Stadium on 18 November 2020. On 1 June 2021, Foden was named…

Foden is left-footed, and can play as a wing-back, or a winger on the right, though Pep Guardiola has described him as "more of a midfielder". He has occasionally been used in a central attacking role as a false 9. In 2017, Guardiola described him as "a special player", saying: "It's dangerous to say good things about young players because they are still young, and they have to grow and they have to learn many, many things... But we have a lot of confidence to help him, because we believe he is a guy who has potential, even if he's not strong, he's not tall." In 2017, Louise Taylor of The Guardian described Foden as "boasting tight, adhesive control and blessed with the knack of drifting past opponents". In 2018, veteran football writer Brian Glanville described him as a "gifted and precocious teenager", adding: "Young players of his skill and inventive quality are pitifully thin on the ground."

Foden has three children with his long-term girlfriend Rebecca Cooke; a son born in 2019, a daughter born in 2021 and another child born during Euro 2024. He wears the 47 shirt and has a matching tattoo on his neck in honour of his grandfather, Ronnie, who died at the age of 47. On 26 June 2024, Foden left England's squad during the European tournament to attend the birth of his third child. Foden is an avid fisherman, considering it one of his favourite activities outside of football.