Phil Foden Explains Reasons Behind His ‘Difficult Season‘ for Man City | OneFootball

Phil Foden has addressed what he’s described as a “difficult season”, highlighting off-field struggles as a factor behind his surprisingly poor form for Manchester City.

The last 12 months have been a rollercoaster for Foden. He finished the 2023–24 club season by winning the sixth Premier League title of his career, scoring 19 times in the league alone, and completing the highly prestigious individual treble of Premier League Player of the Season, FWA Footballer of the Year and PFA Players’ Player of the Year.

But Foden struggled for England at Euro 2024, with his club form then nosediving at the same time as Manchester City’s domestic stranglehold spectacularly unravelled. He has also hardly played over the last six weeks because of a troublesome ankle ligament injury.

“I’ve had a lot of things going on off the pitch mentally. It’s one of them, sometimes there’s things in life that are bigger than football. This season I’ve struggled a little bit,” he said, via BBC Sport.

“Hopefully come next year I can get my head mentally right, get back where I left the season before, because I know what I’m capable of doing and the quality I have.”

Foden is keen to overcome his performance issues. / IMAGO/Mark Cosgrove

Speaking in January, Foden told the Manchester Evening News that he returned from Euro 2024, during which his position in the England team had frustrated him, feeling “mentally fatigued”. After that, he wasn’t consistently starting City games until November, at which point the club embarked on the kind of losing run that has been unprecedented under the current ownership.

“I know if everything was O.K., I’d definitely be better on the field. Sometimes things happen and you have to deal with it and move on. Unfortunately I’ve had a difficult season,” Foden assessed.

“[Resting] is something we have to speak with the club and national team to see maybe if it’s better to rest and get my ankle fully 100% back how I want it. I just don’t know at the moment. It’s a conversation to be had and we'll see what happens.”

After England fixtures at the start of June, City are due at the FIFA Club World Cup from the middle of the month, facing 2021–22 African champions Wydad of Morocco in Philadelphia on June 18.