The first we ever saw of Foden was in a 2017/18 Champions League group stage fixture against Feyenoord when he came on in the 75th minute for Yaya Toure making him the fourth youngest English player to make an appearance in the Champions League (17 years, 177 days).
Following that brief cameo, Pep Guardiola trusted the talented youngster with a place in the starting eleven against Shakhtar Donetsk.
He held the record of being the youngest ever Englishman to start a Champions League game before Jude Bellingham broke that in 2020.
His Premier League debut came as a substitute against Tottenham Hotspur when he replaced Ilkay Gundogan in a 4-1 win over the London side.
Coming into the 2018/19 season, Foden began to establish himself within the City squad.
He worked his way into the starting line-up for the Community Shield and assisted Sergio Aguero’s first goal in the 2-0 victory against Chelsea.
This was the season where the Stockport born midfielder found his goalscoring touch as he scored in a 3-0 win away at Oxford United in the EFL Cup.
Within the space of the same week, he found the back of the net in a 7-0 victory against Rotherham in the FA Cup and Burton Albion in the 9-0 EFL Cup semifinal first leg victory against Burton Albion.
The goals kept on coming, and he found his first ever goal in the UEFA Champions League in a 7-0 rout against Schalke.
This saw him become Manchester City’s youngest ever goal scorer in the Champions League and the youngest English goal scorer to score in the knockout stages of the competition (18 years, 288 days).
His first Premier League goal came in a 1-0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur, proving how influential he was to this team.
Pep Guardiola described him as an important player for City for the next decade.
Five seasons later, and we can see how right the Spanish manager was.
Business resumed for the English wonderkid in the 2019/20 season as he and his City side started the season off with yet another Community Shield victory over Liverpool where Foden scored the winning penalty.
During the Champions League group stage campaign, Foden ended it creating the second most big chances only behind the great Lionel Messi.
Foden started the EFL Cup final and claimed his sixth major honor as the sky blues defeated Aston Villa 2-1 at Wembley.
After the suspension of the league due to Covid, the Englishman was on the scoresheet in a 3-0 win over Arsenal and in the following game scored a brace against Burnley meaning he had scored in consecutive matches for the first time.
The 2020/21 season was full of ups and downs for the English midfielder.
Manchester City reached the round of 16 stage of the Champions League for the eighth consecutive season thanks to a goal from Foden in the victory against Olympiacos.
A historical away trip to Anfield showed everyone Phil Foden’s qualities as a midfielder as he found the back of the net and provided an assist to teammate Ilkay Gundogan in a 4-1 victory. This was City’s first win at in Liverpool since 2003.
A ninth trophy of his career was won when City overcome Tottenham in the EFL Cup final to win the competition two years in a row.
However, the season ended on a disappointing note when Chelsea beat the Manchester side in Istanbul to stop City from winning their first ever Champions League.
This defeat was Foden’s first senior defeat in a final.
In his last few seasons, one of the most remarkable aspects of his career is how often he is available. He is rarely injured and if he is, it usually is not for too long.
In the 2021/22 season, Foden missed the first four games of the season through injury, but since then he has often been an option for Pep Guardiola.
His first hat trick came in a dominant 6-3 victory against rivals Manchester United and in doing so, earned a new contract which should keep him in sky blue colors until 2027.
In recent times, he has become one of the first names on the team sheet and is amongst the most influential players in the current City side alongside Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland.
What is next for the English maestro? Well, he’s already achieved things some footballers can only dream of. Can he propel England to international glory? That is all he has left to tick off his list of achievements.
Club Honors:
5x Premier Leagues
2x FA Cups
4x EFL Cups
2x Community Shields
1x Champions League
1x UEFA Super Cup
1x FIFA Club World Cup
Career Statistics:
Matches played: 251
Goals: 74