Pep Guardiola rejoicing over Manchester City forward’s form after personal struggles | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola rejoicing over Manchester City forward’s form after personal struggles | OneFootball

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·19 ottobre 2025

Pep Guardiola rejoicing over Manchester City forward’s form after personal struggles

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is pleased with Phil Foden’s recent form and believes the England international can improve as he returns to his best.

Foden underwent a difficult 2024-25 campaign after spearheading Manchester City to their fourth successive Premier League title in 2024, with the 25-year-old voted as the PFA Players’ Player of the Year for the 2023-24 season after enjoying the best year of his professional career.


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The Stockport-born attacker admitted that personal struggles and the physical constraints of playing week-in, week-out for Manchester City over the years took a toll on his last season as the Blues simultaneously endured their most difficult season in a decade.

Failing to challenge for the Premier League and UEFA Champions League, City lost the FA Cup final to Crystal Palace last season and newly-appointed director of football Hugo Viana loosened the purse strings in the summer after a dormant. 2024 summer transfer window.

Viana introduced a series of changes to Manchester City’s first-team squad and there remains questions over what the future holds for Phil Foden, with the Englishman’s current deal expiring in the summer of 2027.

Officials at the Etihad Stadium will be keeping a close eye on Foden, who is back playing with a smile and has been a regular feature in Pep Guardiola’s preferred starting XI since he marked his first start of the season with a crucial goal – in a 3-1 triumph over Manchester United in August.

Guardiola has called for Foden to get back to playing with a smile on his face as the Manchester City manager – aided by newly-recruited assistants Pepijn Lijnders and Kolo Toure – help Foden rediscover his best form in a period of transition for the club.

Foden again caught the eye in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Everton on Saturday and was at the heart of his boyhood club’s attacking play, with a brace from Erling Haaland ensuring all three points for the hosts against a resolute Everton side.

Delighted with Foden’s return to form this season, Guardiola hailed the England international and has called for the Manchester City academy graduate to go from strength to strength and carry this momentum deeper into the season.

“More mature and everything; he’s (having) fun, enjoying, smiling, his body language in training is fantastic,” Guardiola said on Foden in a post-match interview.

“And after that, when he (Foden) moves there, always he creates something. Phil has made a step and plays like he is, like we remember in the past. Phil, except last season, has been extraordinary every season. He will be better; it’s like a good wine, with time, he will be better.”

Manchester City bid farewell to a series of senior stars in the summer and Foden’s return to form will come as a great sigh of relief to Guardiola, who needs as many leaders as he can get in a new-look dressing room looking to challenge for major trophies this season.

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