Phil Foden enlists legal ‘army’ after “sickening” fake news stories aimed at Manchester City star’s children | OneFootball

Manchester City star Phil Foden has called upon a legal ‘army’ amid fake news stories appearing on social media falsely claiming one of his children had died.

Over recent months, a number of online rumours and fabricated narratives have increasingly targeted high-profile footballers and their families, with doctored images and false medical claims weaponised to fuel viral misinformation.

This trend has raised wider concerns over player welfare and the emotional toll of online abuse, particularly when involving young families. Phil Foden, who remains one of City’s most visible stars on and off the pitch, is the latest to face deeply personal falsehoods spreading across digital platforms.

The England international has largely avoided public controversy throughout his senior career, making the sudden emergence of harmful and wholly baseless claims particularly shocking for many supporters.

The misuse of artificially generated content has become an alarming part of modern media, increasing the difficulty for families and clubs to respond swiftly before misinformation spreads. With elite players now stepping up legal and technological measures, the situation highlights a growing intersection between football culture, online safety, and AI misuse.

According to the information of The Sun, Phil Foden has called in ­’an army of legal specialists’ following false claims that one of his children had died and another has cancer appeared on social media platforms over the last few weeks.

The move from the Manchester City star follows posts that first appeared on Facebook with incorrect claims that the Foden and his partner, Rebecca Cooke’s eldest son ­Ronnie (6) had passed away.

More recently, a post from another Facebook account called ‘Man City Fan Lover’ made up a false “confession” by the 25-year-old midfielder about his daughter True (4) saying, “My Little Girl has Cancer.” 

Accompanying many of the hoax stories ­appearing online over the past few weeks have also been fake AI-generated images appearing to show Phil Foden and Rebecca Cooke crying together.

Cooke is said to have addressed the stories publicly in an Instagram post, as quoted by The Sun, stating, “We are aware of the pages and accounts spreading these stories. They are completely false and very disturbing.

“I don’t understand how people can make up these things about anyone, especially children. It’s sickening. We are all absolutely fine thank god & thank you for all your concerns we are doing everything we can to stop them.

“Please report any posts or pages you come across sharing these false stories.”

Manchester City staff are expected to support Phil Foden and his family through the situation, with legal action likely to target not only those behind the posts but also platforms hosting such content.

Should action proceed, the outcome could set a precedent for how Premier League players combat deep-fake media and family-targeted online abuse.

The midfielder is now expected to focus on club matters while his representatives pursue remedies behind the scenes. With Manchester City competing across multiple fronts this season, the Blues will hope the episode is resolved swiftly so Foden can move forward.