With Phil Foden’s talent reaching new heights, Pep Guardiola spoke of the Manchester City player in the same breath as the legendary Lionel Messi.
More praise for Foden was shown after his brace in Sunday’s 3-1 victory over Manchester United, as his manager declared the 23-year-old to be the finest player in the Premier League right now.
Guardiola went one step further, though, saying he was reminded of a young Messi by Foden’s ability to take control of games in crucial situations.
Phil Foden scored twice for Man City as they beat their rivals United in the Manchester derby
The English forward drew comparisons to Barcelona legend Lionel Messi from his manager
Guardiola said to TV2 that “the best players, you can play well-but you have to win games, and I met the biggest player ever like Messi.” “He is capable of winning games, and while Phil is not on Leo’s level, I don’t want to draw comparisons.”
When the Catalan’s comments were brought up to Foden, he said, “No way?” It’s great to hear that from the manager, but Messi is in a league of his own. You can’t compare anyone to him.
Foden’s growth was highlighted by his assessment that City was rushing things following Marcus Rashford’s early game-winning goal; this suggests that he has internalized Guardiola’s philosophy, and observers like Thomas Frank are speculating that Foden may contend for future Ballon d’Or awards.
The England international has to develop into a top central midfielder by knowing when to slow down games and being more aware of his defensive duties, according to the City manager, who has frequently mentioned this necessity.
Foden has played much better after City lost two important points to Crystal Palace in December as a result of a mistake in the last minutes. Foden, who played a key role in Saudi Arabia’s success in the Club World Cup, currently has 18 goals in all competitions, which is a record for him.
Despite Messi having played in almost 40 more games than him in terms of minutes, he has one more senior appearance (257) at the same age.
After recovering from injury and losing form, which led to a supporting role in last year’s Treble, Foden has been working additional hours after training to improve his finishing this season. He hasn’t looked back.
“I believe I’ve simply developed as a player,” he continued, sharing the source of his latest joy. “It’s essentially a joke from the guys; they call me the sniper because they say I shoot a lot in training.”