Phil Foden's Journey: From Star Player to Rebuilding Confidence

Phil Foden has never been short of medals or acclaim. What he wants now is something simpler: to feel like himself again.

The Manchester City midfielder has just signed a new four-year contract, tying him to Etihad Stadium until 2030, at a moment when his form has stalled and the club is entering a new era under Enzo Maresca. For Foden, the deal is both a show of faith and a challenge.

“It has made me feel relaxed and I can just concentrate on being the best version of me and give back to the football club for them trusting in me,” he said. “It is nice to see the support from the club and obviously it means a lot. It's about time I try and repay them and give back to the club.”

From peak to pause

Two years ago, Foden sat at the summit of English football. He scored 19 goals in City’s 2023-24 Premier League title-winning campaign and swept the individual honours, named both Professional Footballers' Association player of the year and the league's player of the season.

Since then, the numbers have dipped. Ten goals last season, but none in his past 31 appearances for club and country. For a player whose game has always carried a sense of inevitability in the final third, that is a stark run.

The club’s response was not to hesitate, but to commit. A fresh contract, long term, for a homegrown player whose ceiling they still believe sits among the very highest in Europe.

Foden, now 26, knows exactly what that means. This is trust. And pressure.

Life after Pep

Foden’s story at City is inseparable from Pep Guardiola. It was Guardiola who handed him his debut at 17, who shielded him, pushed him, and then unleashed him. Under the Catalan, Foden amassed 369 appearances and a haul that would crown most careers: six Premier League titles, one Champions League, two FA Cups.

That chapter is closed. Guardiola left at the end of last season. In his place comes Enzo Maresca, an Italian coach who knows the club, the academy, and Foden himself from his previous spell on the staff.

“Very good – a fresh start, a new manager and up to now, really enjoying it,” Foden said of his summer. “It is very strange but I know Enzo from before, so that also helps. I know him quite well and what [he] is about. That has definitely helped, to have that relationship with him.”

The familiarity matters. City are not just changing managers; they are losing key dressing-room pillars. Captain Bernardo Silva and England defender John Stones have gone, along with the tactical and emotional weight Guardiola carried for eight years. Maresca’s first job is to steady the structure. His second is to reignite players like Foden.

Asked about the midfielder’s role, Maresca was clear: “Phil is very important, like the rest. Knowing Phil from years ago, I know how good he is. It is my duty to help him be the Phil we all want. First of all, to be happy and enjoy football is most important. If he feels good, he can help us win titles.”

Hurt on the international stage

If the club’s backing has soothed Foden, the international picture has stung. He started for England in their Euro 2024 final defeat by Spain, but when Thomas Tuchel named his squad for the 2026 World Cup, Foden’s name was not there.

The Three Lions reached the semi-finals, losing 2-1 to Argentina. Foden watched from afar as his teammates walked out for the national anthem. For a player who has grown up as the face of England’s new generation, the exclusion cut deep.

Maresca, still days and weeks away from managing him in a competitive fixture, did not leave that wound unattended.

“He [Maresca] reached out just after to see if it was OK, which was very nice of him, to show us this character and the person he is,” Foden said. “He cares about everyone and wants to have a good relationship with the team.”

Those small gestures matter in a dressing room that has lost some of its old voices. They matter even more to a player trying to rebuild confidence after a difficult year.

Fully fit and under scrutiny

Foden’s struggles last season were not purely tactical or psychological. He battled off-field issues and an ankle injury, problems that stripped away rhythm and sharpness. Now, he insists, that is behind him. He says he is “fully fit”.

Fitness is the foundation. The rest will be judged on the pitch, where Foden’s game has always been about tempo and risk, about drifting into spaces defenders do not see until it is too late. For long stretches of last season, that version of Foden felt muted.

Maresca’s City will offer him a new script. The Italian’s first outing in charge comes on Saturday in a friendly against Inter Milan in Hong Kong, a low-stakes start in a high-pressure job. Pre-season or not, eyes will fall quickly on how and where Foden is used.

Chasing “amazing things”

What is clear is that Foden does not see this as a transition year. Not publicly, at least. Standing at the launch of City’s new Puma away kit in Hong Kong, he set out the scale of his ambition.

“Despite losing the experience and knowhow of Guardiola, captain Bernardo Silva and England defender John Stones, Foden feels City can achieve ‘amazing things’ next season,” ran the club’s own line. He did not shy away from it.

“I think we can win everything, but it's obviously hard. We have still got an unbelievable team,” he said.

It is a bold statement for a side that has just lost its greatest manager and two senior leaders. But it fits the player making it. Foden has grown up in a City dressing room where winning everything is not a slogan, it is the expectation.

Now comes the test of whether he can carry that standard himself. New contract signed. New manager in place. No goals in 31 games hanging over him.

For Phil Foden, the medals are already on the shelf. The next season will show whether he can become the player City have just backed him to be – the one who doesn’t just collect trophies, but defines an era.