Phil Foden's Form Crisis: The 'Most Similar Player' to Lionel Messi Faces a Double Rude Awakening

Pep Guardiola, a fervent admirer of Phil Foden, has recently reduced the 23-year-old's playing time significantly at Manchester City. The winger is yet to score a goal in 2024.

Guardiola has always been open about his admiration for Phil Foden. Back in 2019, when Foden was still largely an emerging talent, Guardiola declared him 'the most talented player I have ever seen in my career as a manager.'

Many might wonder how this praise aligns with Lionel Messi. The Manchester City coach offered a telling comparison in late November, stating: 'He has been so brilliant all season,' referring to Foden. 'I remember a player I coached at Barcelona who arrives in the box and shoots from outside. He is the most similar player I have ever seen.'

These words seemed to galvanize Foden. They coincided precisely with a period when the attacking winger was hitting the best form of his current season. Over four consecutive league matches, all won by City, Foden netted six goals and provided one assist.

While Guardiola subsequently played Foden for the full 90 minutes in the following four Premier League fixtures, there has been a distinct shift since then. Foden has made twelve appearances since, enduring a 13-game spell without a single goal contribution. His last goal in this series was scored on December 14th.

Phil Foden Facing a Tough Period at Manchester City

Foden is currently in a deep slump, which largely began at the start of the year. Since early January, he hasn't completed a full match. Out of the 20 games City has played in 2024, he was not a central figure in half of them (six times on the bench, four times in the squad but unused).

Notably, Guardiola has increasingly opted for other players in critical matches. Foden watched from the sidelines for the entire 90 minutes during the recent 0-3 Champions League defeat to Real Madrid, just as he did against Liverpool in February.

Guardiola, in his characteristic fashion, would naturally deflect the numerous questions from the English press about Foden. 'I have zero, zero, zero doubts about Phil,' the Spaniard affirmed a few weeks ago. 'He just needs to concentrate on playing football and going fishing. If he does that, Phil will be back. It hasn't been 20 centuries since he was the best player in the Premier League.'

Phil Foden's Challenges with the England National Team

While Guardiola's statement isn't incorrect, nearly two years can feel like an eternity in elite sports. During City's title-winning 2023/24 season, Foden was the standout performer in Guardiola's squad with 19 goals and eight assists in 35 games, an achievement for which he deservedly received the league's player of the season award.

However, Foden's trajectory has subtly declined since that peak. Although he was a regular starter under national coach Gareth Southgate during England's run to the European Championship final, he contributed no goals or assists. For the Three Lions, Foden has often struggled to truly shine.

He has now accumulated 47 international caps. Yet, considering his talent and usual output, a tally of only four goals and ten assists (with just three goal contributions in major tournaments) is simply underwhelming. Foden has rarely been able to replicate his club performances on the international stage.

Thomas Tuchel's Approach to Foden

His current dip in form is therefore ill-timed in this respect too. While Southgate and Guardiola have consistently shown him great faith, national coach Thomas Tuchel has taken a somewhat different approach. He has only selected Foden for two of his five training camps to date.

After being omitted three times consecutively, Tuchel recalled Foden to the squad in November, promising him a 'central role.' However, in the two matches against Serbia and Albania, he only featured as a substitute for 53 out of a possible 180 minutes.

Tuchel also sees Foden primarily as a number ten, rather than a winger. Yet, competition in the attacking midfield is fierce. Once fit, Jude Bellingham is likely to secure his place for the upcoming World Cup, as is Morgan Rogers. Eberechi Eze is also a strong contender.

Guardiola's Past Prediction and Current Reality

Speaking of competition: Foden naturally faces it at Manchester City as well, contrary to Guardiola's earlier prediction. 'He is the only player who cannot be sold under any circumstances. Not even for 500 million euros,' Pep wrote in his 2019 book 'Pep's City: The Making of a Superteam,' unequivocally stating: 'Phil is going nowhere. He is Manchester City. We will not sign anyone for his position.'

That, to put it mildly, turned out to be inaccurate. Several players with a fairly similar role to Foden have since arrived: Ferran Torres (2020), Jack Grealish (2021), Jeremy Doku (2023), Savinho (2024), and most recently Rayan Cherki (2025) and Antoine Semenyo (2026). Already last season, Foden was not in the starting lineup for 23 of his 49 competitive matches.

The remainder of the season, even if City's pursuit of major silverware is now largely confined to the two cup competitions after likely missing out on the league and Champions League titles, will therefore be crucial for Foden. He can consider himself fortunate that Guardiola still holds him in high regard – even if his importance to the team has waned over several weeks.

'He is my son, he is our son,' the Spaniard declared. 'Step by step, he will return. We are trying to protect him and bring him back to his best form. In an eight or nine-year career, there are sometimes ups and downs. It's that simple. I will not be the one to doubt Phil's quality and his importance.'

Phil Foden: Performance Statistics for Manchester City

Competitive Matches	Goals	Assists	Yellow Cards	Yellow-Red Cards
359	110	66	16	1