Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has claimed Phil Foden is the most talented player he has ever managed in his career.
In a recent press conference, as reported by The Sun, Pep Guardiola has named Manchester City starlet Phil Foden as the ‘most talented player’ he has ever managed throughout his illustrious career, during which he has coached some of the best footballers in the game such as Lionel Messi.
Guardiola is regarded as one of the best managers ever and has an array of superstars on his portfolio that he has coached and achieved huge success with.
The Catalan was in-charge of the most successful Barcelona team where he helped the likes of Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta rise to greatness, while he also managed the likes of Phillip Lahm, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery during his stint with Bayern Munich.
In his time with Manchester City, Guardiola has managed the likes of David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling. Yet, he has labelled 19-year-old City academy graduate Phil Foden as the most talented player that he has ever coached in his career till date.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, the Manchester City boss said: “He has everything to become one of the best players. 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. He deserves all the minutes, but as well you know in which team he’s playing, there are competitive players. It’s not easy. But he is open minded, he works incredibly hard [in] every training session and he knows how I perceive him.
“He knows completely that I am here to help him as much as possible to become what he is and I am pretty sure both of us will get there.”
A product of the Manchester City youth academy, Foden was handed his senior debut in November 2017 by Guardiola. He became the youngest-ever recipient of a Premier League winners’ medal in the same season. The 2018-19 campaign saw him get more involved in the Cityzens’ first-team, featuring 26 times in which he scored seven goals.
The 19-year-old is likely to see his game time increase further in the upcoming season. And Guardiola’s comments should serve as a great source of confidence for the youngster as he looks to nail down a spot in the Manchester City team in the coming years.
