He is the young football genius who has at times found the road to the top a rocky one.
Identified as a potentially generational talent when he was just six, Phil Foden confirmed his rise from footballing prodigy to fully-fledged global superstar with two brilliant goals to clinch another Premier League title for Manchester City. At 23 he is now the youngest ever player to win the league six times.
But despite the fame and adulation, away from the sporting spotlight the young man whose quick feet and lethal shooting could also prove crucial to England’s hopes in this summer’s Euros hasn’t forgotten his council estate roots.
Despite his soaring value – a string of fashion endorsements have earnt him £1.4million in a year, on top of his £200,000-a-week wages – MailOnline discovered Foden remains a familiar sight on the Stockport streets where he grew up.
Remarkably, his trademark ‘skin fade’ haircut is the handiwork of a barbers shop around the corner from his end-terrace childhood home where he has been going for a trim since the age of eight.
His trademark ‘skin fade’ haircut is the handiwork of a barbers shop around the corner from his end-terrace childhood home
His growing wealth has transformed the fortunes of his entire family, including buying a £3million, six-bed gated house in an upmarket Cheshire village
Earlier this year the father-of-two left TV pundits in stitches by revealing how he pays just £20 for a trim – cheekily goading Micah Richards who has admitted paying ten times that amount when he needs to ‘sharpen up’.
Down the road is the Indian takeaway where Foden – described by friends as ‘a council estate lad at the end of the day’ – drops in to pick up his favourite Balti dish to take round to visit friends.
And a few doors away is the bustling fish and chip shop where staff have known him since he was a football-mad toddler.
Proud locals are convinced that the way he has remained close to his roots has helped him navigate the extraordinary weight placed on his shoulders since he first burst into the Manchester City team aged 17.
Unlike so many footballing prodigies before him, his apparently grounded life has so far helped him survive the pressures of fame – despite some high-profile mis-steps along the way.
Nevertheless, as the Mail revealed in 2022, his growing wealth has transformed the fortunes of his entire family, including buying a £3million, six-bed gated house in an upmarket Cheshire village.
Down the road is the Indian takeaway where Foden – described by friends as ‘a council estate lad at the end of the day’ – drops in to pick up his favourite Balti dish to take round to visit friends
A few doors away is the bustling fish and chip shop where staff have known him since he was a football-mad toddler
It stands just down the road from the £2.85million mansion he shares with partner Rebecca Cooke, 23, and their two children, son Ronnie, five, and daughter True.
Another to benefit is his paternal grandmother, Mary, 63, for whom Foden bought a £200,000 bay-fronted house just up the road from where he grew up.
It was the death of her late former partner, Foden’s grandfather Walter, at the age of 47 which famously inspired his Manchester City squad number.
A clip of Foden revealing the modest bill for his trademark hairstyle went viral earlier this year as he left TNT pundits in stitches after scoring in a 3-1 Champions’ League win over FC Copenhagen.
‘Before you go, who is your barber because your trim is looking quite fresh, I’m not gonna lie,’ Foden was asked by former Man City defender Richards.
‘I’ve heard you pay a lot for your trim,’ Foden responded, leaving Richards and fellow pundits Jamie Carragher and Thierry Henry creasing up.
Pressed by presenter Kate Abdo how much he splashes out, the England international answered: ‘£20 from the local. I swear. ‘I sort him out sometimes but I’ve been to the same barber since the age of eight.’
Foden grew up in a modest end-terrace house squeezed beside a parade of nondescript takeaways and beauty salons in Stockport
Scouted by Man City as a youngster, Foden worked his way through their academy and made his debut in 2017, aged 17
In fact Mail Online can reveal that the ‘trim’ which an envious Richards admitted was ‘quite fresh’ is the handiwork of a stylist at Scissor Trim in Edgeley, Stockport – and Foden has indeed been having his hair cut there since he was a pupil at nearby Bridgehall Primary School.
Indeed the barber’s Instagram page also shows how Foden brings in his son – named Ronnie after his dad’s nickname, and a fully-fledged social media sensation with 4million followers of his own – to have his hair smartened up.
‘Whenever he comes here, there’s always people waiting outside the shop to catch sight of him,’ said Kurdish owner Pasha Fade, 29, standing proudly next to a signed Manchester City shirt hanging on the wall.
‘He always has the same medium skin fade, the only difference is whether he wants one line shaved in it or two.’
Foden has also recommended Scissor Trim to his team-mates, with fellow internationals Ederson Moraes and Kyle Walker also featuring on its social media.
It stands on Castle Street where most businesses are on first-name terms with ‘Ronnie’ – as Foden is universally known to family and friends to distinguish him from his father, Phil Sr.
‘I think he appreciates how coming back to Edgeley gives him a bit of normality in his life,’ said Alal Miah, 51, manager of the Bombay Castle, where Foden is a regular customer.
A photograph of Foden being served three bags of takeaway food is proudly shared on the restaurant’s Facebook page – along with a comment about how ‘nice and down to earth’ he is.
For added local connections, he is sporting a baseball cap bearing the logo of Stockport fashion retailer Fresh Clothing, whose shop is just over the road.
Next door fish and chip shop The Friary is also a regular stop-off whenever Foden is in Edgeley.
Foden – nicknamed ‘the Stockport Iniesta’ after the Spain and Barcelona legend – has spoken of his bond with his home town, which today boasts a mural painted in his honour.
Foden scored twice in Sunday’s Premier League tie against West Ham to help Manchester City win the title for an unprecedented fourth year in a row
Manchester City player Phil Foden (left) – or ‘Ronnie’ as he is universally known to family and friends – lives in a £2.85million mansion with his partner Rebecca Cooke, 21 (right), along with his son and daughter
‘I’ve still got family around Stockport, so I go and visit sometimes, and kids are just starstruck to see me,’ he said.
‘It’s quite strange because I was one of those kids and was just the same as them.
‘They look up to you, so it’s just to give something back, because I used to play there growing up. It’s good to play with them and see a smile on their face.
‘I just want to be a good role model for them.’ He later told Esquire magazine that part of his single-minded dedication to ensuring his talent did not go to waste was to be able to ‘look after my family’.
‘But my job was just to keep focused on the game,’ he added. ‘My aim was to just enjoy myself.’
Foden’s potential was first spotted aged just six by Manchester City’s head of academy recruitment during a coaching session his primary school.
Aged ten, Foden, his parents, Phil Sr and Claire, and older brother Callum left their rented end-terrace house in Edgeley for a more upmarket area of town after he entered the academy system at Manchester City.
Now 45, his father – ironically a Manchester United fan – manages his son’s career, while his mother, 44, is credited with keeping the young superstar’s feet on the ground.
She has described how he was ‘the cheapest kid ever’, telling the Daily Telegraph his childhood was: ‘No games, no toys, nothing, just a football.’
Pep Guardiola, manager of Manchester City and Phil Foden celebrate after Sunday’s match
‘He’s never Phil Foden to us, he’s always ‘Ronnie’,’ said Colette Haworth, landlady of the Royal Oak pub.
‘You’ll often see him pushing a pram along the precinct, or carrying a takeaway and a bottle of wine.
‘People around here are very proud of how he’s stayed so close to his roots.’
Local shopkeeper Harish Panchani added: ‘He still comes into the shop with his girlfriend, he’s really down-to-earth – he takes his kids to the park over the road, and goes fishing in the local lake.
‘How many top footballers can you say that about?’
Mr Panchani added: ‘The whole family are just decent people, and I’m sure the way he’s still so rooted in the community is a big part of how he’s handled becoming so famous.’
After making his senior international debut against Iceland in Reykjavik in September 2020, Foden and team-mate Mason Greenwood were revealed to have invited a beauty queen and her cousin back to their hotel – in breach of strict Covid quarantine rules.
Both were fined £1,400 by local police and kicked out of the squad, with Foden issuing a grovelling apology.
The following year he and Jack Grealish were dropped to the bench by City manager Pep Guardiola as a warning over their off-pitch behaviour following a mid-week night out.
But with 26 goals and 12 assists to his name ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup Final against Manchester United, Foden is truly reaping the rewards of his determination to fulfil his amazing potential.
