Phil Foden: The Man, The Myth, The Cityzen

By Noah Solovey

Phil Foden, a little lad from Stockport, playing at the young age of eight years old in a local academy team, secretly held the flair and talent to become a professional football superstar one day. Little did he know that 15 years later, his young-age potential would peak to its highest. Now, he is the star player for Manchester City, compared to the likes of Kaka, and making his mark in Manchester City history with every fixture the treble-winning team summons.

It all started when he played for City's academy, and his coach noted, “He could play with the big guys." He was too good at the beautiful game to play with the younger players, as he needed a challenge, so the coach would always play him up, with the bigger players. He was always the best on his team, and he knew that if he put in the needed effort, it would all come back to him in the future. It sure did.

After being with every Manchester City academy that existed and establishing himself in football, he knew that he had the potential to expand his passion beyond his dreams. So, putting countless hours and time into improving at the goal-scoring game, was a stepping stone in Foden's career when city manager Pep Guardiola selected him for the matchday squad for the home game against Celtic. He was placed on the bench and would be unused for the entire game, but he knew that if he was at least selected at 16 to play on the bench for a Champions League match, the best was yet to come.

The lifelong city fan achieved only the start of his childhood dream when he officially was part of the first team in the 2017-18 season. In this memorable season for Phil, he was placed on the bench multiple times. Eventually, in a Champions League match against Feyenoord, he came on for Yaya Toure in the 75th minute and made his legendary Manchester City debut. That was just the start of the iconic Phil Foden.

Later, in the same season, Foden broke the record for the youngest English player to start a Champions League match. In this fixture, Manchester City were crowned victorious by winning 2-1. Jude Bellingham would later steal this record, but young Phil knew there was a whole career ahead of him to break more records, so the young Stockport boy didn't care.

Next for Foden was his Premier League debut, and he accomplished this when he came on as a substitute for Ilkay Gundogan in a 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur. Only if Foden knew that in the future, the Premier League would be his headquarters for goals, assists, and his legacy.

In the 2017-18 season, he ended up having scored no goals but made 11 appearances for the club. He was proud and knew that his future would be in good hands if he kept up his wonder-kid mentality.

Next for him was his 2018-19 season, where he would discover his goalscoring and assisting skills. He would end up scoring eight goals and getting two assists! Though that may not sound like a major number, for an 18-year-old that was the beginning of something big.

Then, in 2019-20 his career took off. He achieved eight goals and nine assists that season and for a 19 year old that was something unbelievable. Little did the young boy know that this was still only the start for him. I bet he didn’t think it was possible to become a Ballon d’Or contender one day, but Phil demonstrated that anything is possible when you work hard.

After that, his best season yet would come in the 2020-21. Scoring 21 goals and 13 assists in one season, for a midfielder? That is just insane! Foden knew that the manager trusted him after this season, so he now could expect to start every single game.

Furthermore, in the 2021-22 season, he skyrocketed once again! The fans loved the homegrown city boy. He was finally considered “one of our own!” he scored 16 goals and achieved 14 assists! Nothing could stop him now!

Next, in the treble-winning 2022-23 season, even though he had a long-term injury he still did well! 18 goals and 11 assists! The boy was one to look out for! Only at 22, he had a whole career ahead of him to achieve even more. Phil also scored in decisive games this season. Everything was going well for the Manchester boy.

Now, we are in the middle of the 2023-24 season, and he is subjectively our best player. Scoring game-winning goals, hatricks, and even putting the ball in the net in Manchester Derbies! As of right now, he has 15 goals and 10 assists, and in the premier league (of all time) he has 156 appearances, 46 goals, 119 wins, and 18 losses. How about that for a 23-year-old? 

Every time he plays and I see him on the Manchester City XI, I am overjoyed. His flair and game-deciding ability make him shine in the Manchester City team. No, it is not the manager that guides him to success, though Pep does help him grow, it’s his mentality to keep going, to love football, and to move mountains.

Everything that has happened in Phil’s career has become iconic. Because without the goals, the growth, and the assists he achieved in the past, he wouldn’t be who he is today. He wouldn’t be the same Phil Foden. He wouldn’t be the man, the myth, the cityzen.