'I just love football. Nothing can get in the way. I don't think that will ever change.’
White cotton ribbed roll-neck, price on request, by Prada.If you should ever find yourself, as I did this past September, looking for a guide to the neat suburb of Edgeley, in the steep-sided town of Stockport, Greater Manchester, you could do worse than Terry John.
White leather blouson, £4,030; white cotton printed T-shirt, £535, both by Louis Vuitton. Earring, his own. Photograph by Simon EmmettA sharp turn into a tightly packed network of red-brick terraced houses, first Grenville Street and then another turn on to Aberdeen Crescent, location of Terry’s childhood home. There it is, number 45, the house Terry was born in. Hardly roomy for two adults and four kids, as they were back then, before Terry’s two youngest sisters came along.
I’d been shown Terry’s childhood home the previous day. Now I’m keen to see Foden’s. He leads the way, trailed by me and Terry and the Esquire crew: photographer and assistants and all the others who work to make the pictures look good. And here it is, 117 Grenville Street, opposite the Kingrill restaurant, part of a parade of homes and businesses, some of which have seen better days.
Plenty of famous footballers come from more hardscrabble backgrounds than this. It’s trite to say that it’s a long way from here to the top of the Premier League. Clearly, it is. And then also, it’s no distance at all. Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium is just a few miles away. For Phil Foden, it’s never felt out of reach.
Grey wool checked jacket, £2,500, by Celine. White cashmere-blend turtleneck, £1,070, by Louis VuittonSo, Foden reached maturity at precisely the right moment. From his debut, in 2017, he has played for arguably the best club side in the world, under the most gifted manager, alongside some of the finest players ever to have turned out for an English team.
In the days after our encounter, it’s reported that Foden has signed a new, six-year contract with Manchester City, worth £78m, and that his salary has increased to £250,000 per week. City declined to confirm or deny this when I asked. But for all the insanity of those figures, for the club this amounts to excellent business.
Foden can hardly remember a time when his life wasn’t dominated by his association with Manchester City. He went through every level of the Academy. He did half-days at school, spending afternoons training. “Obviously, growing up you do see people around you earning lots of money from playing football,” he says. “I definitely felt the pressure of that. I wanted to be able to look after my family. But my job was just to keep focused on the game. My aim was to just enjoy myself. To play with a smile on my face.”
Most 22-year-olds, I venture, are able to let off steam by going out drinking with their mates. “That’s the hardest thing,” he says. “There’s so much going on out there for a young footballer like myself. The hardest thing is being in bed early and ready to train the next day when there’s all these distractions around. I think that’s where the dedication comes in.” And perhaps being a dad helps here, too? “It keeps me focused.
He’s not a fan of social media. “I find it boring,” he says. “There’s too much negative stuff. A lot of people who don’t know anything about football. I just ignore it, it’s not for me.” Foden has already won a World Cup for England. In 2017, he was the star of the team that won the Under-17 World Cup, in India. In the final, a 5-2 victory over Spain in Kolkata, Foden scored twice. He won the Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament and was voted BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year as a result.
In some respects, I suggest, that injury might be seen as a blessing. Quite apart from the enervating disappointment of the match itself — England’s early goal followed by the crushing inevitability of the Italian equaliser, the trauma of the penalty shoot-out, Italy’s eventual triumph — the occasion was disfigured by crowd trouble before and after the game, and the revolting racism aimed at the three England players who missed penalties: Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Judi Love dubs England stars Rashford and Foden 'incredible' for World Cup goalsEXCLUSIVE: Loose Women favourite Judi Love has a message of congratulations for World Cup goal-scoring youngsters Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden following their Wales win
Read more »
Phil Foden sends warning to France as England beat Senegal to set up QF clashPhil Foden has sent a warning to England’s World Cup quarter-final opponents France. 🗣 ‘We are going to celebrate tonight but it is knockout football now so we will have to recover and then think about the next opponent.'
Read more »
England WAGs make World Cup match a family affair as kids cheer on their dadsEngland footballers’ kids were over the moon as the Three Lions proved successful against Senegal, with the World Cup match finishing 3 - 0 on Sunday 4 December
Read more »
England 3-0 Senegal: Rating the players as Southgate's men cruise into World Cup quarter-finalsWinning major tournament knockout games with minimal fuss is just something England do now. Didn't used to. Anyway, here's the ratings.
Read more »