Manchester City star Phil Foden well and truly earned Pep Guardiola’s respect in the 2020/21 season.
Foden has since gone on to be one of Manchester City’s most pivotal players, winning the PFA Player of the Year for his performances last season.
The England international scored 19 goals and registered eight assists in City’s Premier League winning campaign, scoring twice on the final day to secure the title.
Guardiola has regularly spoken about loving Foden as a player and also as a person but the two had a run-in back in October 2020.
The former Barcelona manager took issue with a free-kick taken by Foden in a 3-1 win over Porto in the Champions League.
Guardiola, known for being a perfectionist and incredibly demanding of his players, fumed at Foden for not following his instructions.
As per James Ducker from The Telegraph, Guardiola shouted: “F****** hell Phil! F****** hell! You haven’t done what I said!”.
The expletive-filled remark did not go down well with Foden, who felt Guardiola was guilty of double standards when dealing with different players.
Said to be “furious” by his manager calling him out, he rushed down the tunnel and got changed in the dressing room before many of his teammates had returned.
When Guardiola returned, Foden was waiting for him at the door and let rip. He told his manager, “Don’t ever do that to me again! You wouldn’t do that to other players.”
Rather than kicking off, Guardiola actually apologised to the midfielder at the time but felt he needed to go further.
Phil Foden and Pep Guardiola in 2020- Getty
The following day, a second apology was issued in a meeting with the whole team and Guardiola made the decision to fine himself.
The money went straight into the players’ kitty in a gesture that was appreciated by the group. And Guardiola also admired the fact that Foden stood up for himself and had been wanting him to do so for a while.
It’s claimed the moment was a turning point in Foden’s City career and was seen as a key step in his transition from a boy to a man.