Pep Guardiola has said that 19-year-old Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden is the most talented player he’s ever seen.
Foden broke into the City first-team at the end of last season and became Manchester City’s youngest-ever goalscorer in the Champions League and the youngest English goalscorer to score in the knock-out stages of the competition.
Guardiola has worked with some of the best players in the world during his time as manager at Manchester City, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but he thinks that the England underage international is a cut above the rest.
“He has everything to become one of the best players,” Guardiola said.
“I have said many times in press conferences, but maybe not said it in front of him, Phil is the most, most, most talented player I have ever seen in my career as a manager.
“His only problem is sometimes his manager doesn’t put him in the starting XI. Hopefully in the future that can improve.”
When you consider the players Pep Guardiola has coached, let alone seen…
That is some mind-blowing praise for Phil Foden 🤯 pic.twitter.com/njNXhjSr6a
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) July 26, 2019
Foden scored against Tottenham towards the end of last season and Sky Sports commentator and former Manchester United captain Gary Neville revealed that he had been told by coaches in the City youth academy that they may as well pack it in if the Stockport native could not breakthrough to the club’s first team.
“To play him in his first game or his second Premier League start in such an important game there comes a point where Pep Guardiola thinks here it is,” Neville told Sky Sports.
“This is the moment I have to get him into the side. The sort of feedback I have been getting in the last weeks is that there is a feeling in the club that if they don’t get this kid in there might all stop having an Academy.”
