Manchester City have backed Phil Foden. It probably wouldn't have happened for any other player

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Pimenta’s involvement could, in fact, be the kind of thing Foden needs in his bid to get back to the player he was; sources around City say he has perhaps lacked top-level guidance over the past few years, and the expectation is he and Pimenta will continue to work together in the future. If Foden has special status at City, then that is understandable; he was always talked about as somebody who could go on to play for the first team, even before he turned 10 years old, but the heights he went on to reach could surely never have been envisioned. At the age of 25, he has six Premier League titles to his name, two FA Cups, a Champions League, five Carabao Cups (he also named a dog Carabao) and a host of other trophies. If his role in the team gradually built up during his years working with Pep Guardiola, the end of the 2023-24 season represented the explosion many had been expecting for years. At a time when Kevin De Bruyne’s influence was dwindling due to injuries as he moved deeper into his thirties, Foden stepped up and made several match-winning contributions, often with devastating finishes into the top corner, including one in the Manchester derby and one on the final day of the season. He was named the Premier League’s Player of the Year and it seemed a torch had been passed. And yet, almost two years later, he has rarely come close to repeating those feats. This time last season, as he reflected on a desperately disappointing campaign, he withdrew from the England squad and talked about his struggles off the pitch and with his mental health. There have been nagging injuries and illnesses, too. By the end of 2025, Foden had appeared to have put all of that behind him. He scored two fine goals against Borussia Dortmund in November and six in four consecutive Premier League games, including two against Leeds United, one of which was a fine late winner, and two against Fulham. He seemed to be back in his groove by mid-December and yet, a month later, he’d slipped out of it again. He was taken off at half-time of the Manchester derby on January 17, a game where he seemed unusually inhibited and lacking in belief. That has continued to be the case ever since. Last weekend, he started the FA Cup semi-final against Southampton but struggled to make his mark against Championship opposition, and as he left the pitch around the hour mark, he was almost consoled by club and country team-mate John Stones, who jogged over to him to try to keep his friend’s spirits up. England head coach Thomas Tuchel appears to have hit the nail on the head when he talked about Foden’s quiet performances during the most recent international break, when he was the only player to start both March friendlies against Uruguay and Japan. “He came to camp with the brightest smile and was so good in training,” Tuchel said. “And I thought he will just surprise us and will play with the same verve and excitement but, yeah, he struggles to have the full impact.” There is no certainty Foden will even be in the squad named later this month for the looming World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. After that semi-final against Southampton, he uploaded videos of himself training on the astroturf pitch he has at his home, seemingly a sign to the world that he is doing all he can. The City players had been given three days off by Guardiola and many of them flew away on short holidays before the season’s run-in, but Foden was putting in the work. City have offered him as much support as possible during the past two years, and this new contract is a show of their faith that things will come good again. Whenever Guardiola has been asked about Foden in recent months, he has simply said he needs time and patience. Those struggles, and the fact Foden’s existing deal was due to expire next summer, mean City have had to essentially make a big decision without all the facts. They could have waited another season to get a fuller picture, after all. That would come with the risk Foden could leave as a free agent, though he has never really considered a move from City anyway. That would have been considered a risk, but the new deal itself can also be viewed that way, given the length of it. What if his struggles continue? City are known for rewarding players with new contracts if they have done well, sometimes as soon as after their first season, but can be very businesslike if they believe a guy is coming to the end of his usefulness, as they have demonstrated with De Bruyne and, on two occasions, Ilkay Gundogan. It does feel like an emotional decision, but if City have decided to back their homegrown star, at a time when football clubs across the world have been accused of losing their souls and alienating the fans, it is surely commendable that they are looking after somebody with such emotional ties to the club, the area and the supporters. It may be that Foden’s expected work with Pimenta helps get him back to where he needs to be. The two originally met in November after he started looking for new representation, and he instructed her to handle his contract talks soon afterwards. Foden has had several different representatives during his time in the City first team, the kind of upheaval that those around the club think has probably not done him any favours, considering his sometimes turbulent life off the pitch. During his breakthrough to the first team, he was represented by Richard Green and Owen Brown, who had huge experience in football, particularly with Liverpool, where they looked after that club’s long-time manager Rafa Benitez, among others. Foden was particularly close to Green, a lawyer, but he died in 2021. Soon after, the player’s father began to take control of his affairs and was later assisted by Terry John, who had established a strong bond with the family because he previously worked in the City academy and was the man who ensured Foden signed for the club in the first place as a youngster. John oversaw Foden’s previous contract extension in 2022 but had never been an agent by trade previously, and late last year, with that agreement due to end in 2027, the midfielder felt other options might be better. That led to a meeting with Pimenta, who has an excellent reputation at City through her dealings with them relating to Haaland, not least during the negotiations that paved the way for the nine-and-a-half-year contract he signed in January 2025. Sources close to his deal — speaking anonymously to protect relationships — suggest Foden, despite his seemingly ongoing struggles, has been given a pay rise, as well as the security of an extra three years and the option for a fourth. It is an incredible show of faith by City in a player who has the potential to be one of the world’s best, but so often seems weighed down by it all. It may not be something the club would have done for every player, but that is because, as far as they are concerned, Foden is not just any player. 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