Phil Foden reflects on impact of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola in touching tribute

Manchester City star Phil Foden has hailed the impact of Pep Guardiola on his footballing career.

The 24-year-old was handed his first-team Manchester City debut by Pep Guardiola in the UEFA Champions League in November 2017, with the Englishman going on to make 270 appearances and win 17 trophies with the Sky Blues.

Foden propelled Manchester City to a record-breaking fourth consecutive Premier League trophy last month, netting an emphatic first-half brace against West Ham at the Etihad Stadium to help the Cityzens to a sixth title in seven years.

The midfielder was directly involved in 39 goals in 53 appearances for Manchester City this term, with Foden’s performances leading to the England international winning both the Premier League Player of the Season award and FWA Men’s Footballer of the Year award.

Foden has scored 87 goals and made 180 starts since starting against Shakhtar Donetsk in December 2017, with the boyhood Manchester City supporter having played a major role in the club’s recent silverware success.

The 24-year-old will also be bidding for international silverware this summer, when Gareth Southgate’s England squad travel to Germany for the European Championship later this month.

In an interview with The Mail, Foden has discussed the impact of Guardiola on his career to date, saying: “It’s funny, I feel that the City manager sometimes thinks I’m still that little boy, which I don’t mind.

“Even when I was walking on stage to get my [Premier League] winner’s medal the other week he said to me, ‘you’ve grown up now’. It’s nice to have been on this rollercoaster with him and to have shared so many great memories.

“I couldn’t have had a better person to help me along the way than Pep. He gave me his trust in big games at such a young age and I have to thank him a lot.”

Foden has played over 40 games for Manchester City in each of the past four seasons, with the midfielder having also stepped up in the absence of Kevin De Bruyne this year, after the Belgian missed months of the campaign due to hamstring surgery.