Deeney makes huge Foden comparison after Man City star destroys Man Utd
Phil Foden has been compared to Brazil legend Ronaldinho after his match-winning display in the Manchester derby.
The Manchester City star scored twice in the second-half - his first a sensational strike from 20 yards before his neat finish put the champions ahead. Pep Guardiola's side eventually finished as 3-1 winner after their academy graduate had inspired them to the three points.
Foden has long been tipped for huge things and plaudits have continued to come his way as his involvement and influence has increased. Now Deeney has drawn comparisons between the City star and Ronaldinho, who won the World Cup in 2002 and the Ballon d'Or back in 2005.
He said on Match of the Day: "For me, he's one of those people that, you know when you used to watch Ronaldinho play, the freedom - he's one of those people. They don't have many of those mavericks in the game anymore. You give him the ball and you see like a street footballer playing and you're like: 'Woah he's good, I want to watch him'. And I think that's what I see when I watch him anyway."
Foden is part of a star-studded squad and, as a result, hasn't always been guaranteed starts. Guardiola was once criticised for not handing the player enough minutes but has since been praised for how he handled his development. Now the City boss believes he has a world class talent on his hands.
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“Winning games is when you become a world-class player," he said. "Everyone can play good but you have to win games and he wins games. What can I say? He loves football. He lives to play. There are people who like to play. He loves to play football. He will already be a legendary player because in a short age, the games played, the minutes, the goals scored, the titles won and he is from the home and that is why the connection with the fans is unbelievable.
"He always scores goals but now he scores goals to win games. When you do this, you reach another level as a player. He is the player of the season, with all the respect for incredible players but no one has been so decisive for us as him this season.”
Ronaldinho became the best player in the world at Barcelona (AFP via Getty Images)Roy Keane watched on from the Sky Sports studio as Foden delivered a masterclass in the derby and maintained, not matter how many quality players England have at their disposal, the City man must start come the Euros this summer.
He said: "Foden stepped up. Amazing, brilliant player. City toyed with United. When you play City there's no hiding place. There's great competition in that England squad and Gareth [Southgate] is very lucky but Foden has to be in that starting XI. As brilliant as he was going forward today, the other bits of the game, his running back and doing the job for the team. For me this kid is an absolute team player. He has to be in that England team."
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