Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola once opted to fine himself after he had a heated confrontation with Phil Foden during a match.
What happened between Pep Guardiola and Phil Foden?
We all know football is a game of passion and sometimes, in the heat of the moment, certain individuals can see red and lose themselves.
Essentially, anyone who has ever played the sport at any level will have witnessed someone going into full meltdown mid-game and it appears this can happen at the very highest point of the game too.
Indeed, when Man City were playing a Champions League tie against Porto a few seasons ago, Guardiola scolded English midfielder Foden for something that happened on the pitch and it carried all the way into the dressing room.
James Ducker explained how it all played out in his recent article for The Telegraph, noting that it began when the club's manager was unhappy with his player for not doing what he wanted from a free kick.
Guardiola screamed at Foden: “F***ing hell Phil! F***ing hell! You haven’t done what I said!”
Unhappy with how he'd been spoken to, however, the 23-year-old wasn't able to let his anger go and after the full-time whistle, he lashed out.
Confronting his manager in the dressing room, Foden eventually fired back: “Don’t ever do that to me again! You wouldn’t do that to other players.”
While some managers may have doubled down and even punished a player for having the nerve to talk back at them in such a way, Guardiola conceded that he had been in the wrong.
The former Barcelona coach apologised profusely in person, and then called a full team meeting to say sorry to Foden in front of the entire squad before paying a self-imposed fine into the players’ kitty, which was supposedly a "widely admired" gesture.
Journalist Ducker explained how this "X-rated row" actually played a key role as a "turning point" in the youngster's City career, as Guardiola "loved the sight of Foden putting his foot down and viewed it as a significant example of this boy slowly but surely becoming a man" having previously hoped to see the player stand up for himself more.
How many trophies has Phil Foden won?
As it happened, that season – the 2020/21 campaign – turned out to be Foden's breakthrough as he truly established himself as a first-team regular.
The Englishman played 50 times for Man City across all competitions, scoring 16 goals and netting ten assists. The English outfit also did a domestic double that season as they won the Premier League and the League Cup.
In total, Foden has won 12 major trophies across the entirety of his relatively short career so far, having also lifted the FA Cup and the Champions League on top of the aforementioned league and cup lifts. On top of that, he has also won the Community Shield twice and the u17 World Cup with England (though those do not count as major trophies).
No doubt the player will be hoping to add more to his collection in the upcoming season which begins on Friday night with his side taking a trip to Burnley for the opening Premier League game of the 2023/24 season.
