Real life of Man City's Phil Foden: Mum's admission, other name, special number

"Phil Foden, he's one of our own" goes the chant that now regularly rings around the Etihad Stadium. Manchester City's former boy wonder, who was once lovingly nicknamed 'the Stockport Iniesta', a nod to the Barcelona legend, has become a superstar in his own right.

Last summer, when Kevin De Bruyne limped out of the Champions League final, it was Foden who stepped into the breach. On the biggest of all stages, the 23-year-old put in an assured performance to get City over the line, and beat Inter Milan 1-0 to secure the club's status as Champions of Europe for the first time.

It completed a historic treble for the Blues, who picked up the Premier League title and FA Cup just weeks earlier. This season he is once again spearheading the club's push for glory scoring 11 goals and registering eight assists in all competitions.

It has been a meteoric rise for Foden since he made his debut for the club in a Champions League game against Feyenoord in November 2017.

Philip Walter Foden was born on May 28, 2000, to parents Phil Foden Snr and Claire Rowlands. He is one of five siblings - Callum, who is three years older, and younger siblings Kenzi, Lois, and Avayah.

He became known as Ronnie to family and friends, after his nan suggested it as a nickname to avoid the confusion of sharing his own father’s name.

Phil Snr and Callum were actually United fans. However, Claire and the rest of his family are City fans, with Phil quickly adopting his mum's love of the Blues.

The family lived in an end-terraced house on Grenville Street in Edgeley, in central Stockport, just a stone's throw from Stockport County's Edgeley Park ground. Phil would spend his hours playing football in a nearby car park.

Mum Claire said he was ‘the cheapest