Foden reaches 300 appearances for Man City without fulfilling Guardiola's Messi prophecy

"I have said many times in press conferences, but maybe not said it in front of him. Phil is the most talented player I have ever seen in my career as a manager. He has everything to become one of the best players." These were the words that Pep Guardiola had used to describe Phil Foden in 2019, when he started to emerge into the the Sky Blues' team. Considering all the players the Catalan manager had coached throughout his career at that point, his statement came as a surprise to many, only to be clarified by himself days before the 2021 Champions League final. "Messi is the best but I didn't meet Messi when he was 17 like I was able to with Phil. At that age, I've never seen a player of his potential. The things he does, his attitude on big occasions, his calmness..."
More than four years later, Foden has made a name for himself among Europe's elites, reaching 300 matches for Manchester City. Although somewhat far from Guardiola's prophecy, he remains without a doubt one of the best players on the continent. Foden celebrates the third centenary mark with the Citizens at 24 years, 8 months and 8 days, almost identical to Leo Messi, who landed the milestone with Barcelona at 24 years, 6 months and 23 days. Despite the similarity in age, the distance between the two, in terms of figures, has widened over time.
At this stage in his career, Messi counted 213 goals and 80 assists while Foden went into this 300th appearance with just 97 goals and 56 assists. The Englishman played his first ten fixtures for City in the 2017/18 campaign, registering one assist, but saw much more game time in the following season - 2018/19 - scoring 7 times and assisting twice from 26 matches, as he had already established himself within Guardiola's rankings. The 2020/21 (16 goals and 11 assists) and 2021/22 (14 goals and 11 assists) seasons looked to be paving the way for an explosion that did not come in 2022/23 (15 goals and 7 assists) but instead came last term - 2023/24 - as the Man City youth product took part in 53 games - the most he has ever played in a single campaign - and recorded 27 goals and 11 assists.
Everything pointed towards Foden becoming a leader for the reigning Premier League champions, however, the forward has been caught up in his team's dismal form. Heading into the FA Cup clash against Leyton Orient, his 30th match of the current season, and the 300th of his time as a Manchester City player, Foden only counted 10 goals and 4 assists, a fairly disappointing figure given the expectations surrounding him.
Manchester City's struggles this term have also slightly stained the England international's record of wins, draws and defeats. Before this season, Foden had only got a total of 31 defeats in his career, however, having been present for 10 of the Citizen's losses this term, his tally has gone up to 41. He also has 42 draws, six of which have come in the current campaign, and 216 victories, a figure that puts him ahead of Messi's wins within his first 300 appearances for the 'Blaugrana'. The Argentine counted 209 wins, 59 draws and 32 defeats by the time he reached the milestone.
Despite Foden's undisputed talent, time has demonstrated that equating him with Messi is a bit of a stretch. That said, the Stockport-born player still has at least a decade ahead of him to keep setting new records at City - if he decides to dedicate his entire career to one club. Foden's contract with Man City does not expire until 2027, so he is bound to break a few more records as a Citizen regardless of whether he renews.