Phil Foden's Role at Manchester City: Unofficial Captain

Enzo Maresca has drawn his leadership lines at Manchester City – and Phil Foden is on the outside of the official group looking in.

The new City manager has confirmed a four-man captaincy team for the season, with Ruben Dias, Erling Haaland, Marc Guehi and Gianluigi Donnarumma chosen to share the armband. Foden, 26 and a symbol of the club’s modern era, was considered. He did not make the final cut.

“The captain is Ruben, Erling, Marc Guehi and Gianluigi Donnarumma,” Maresca told reporters on Friday, laying out a hierarchy that blends the old guard with his own stamp on the dressing room. Dias and Haaland are the obvious pillars. The elevation of Guehi and Donnarumma, though, signals a deliberate shift in what Maresca wants from his leaders.

The Italian leaned heavily on experience when explaining why Foden, a mainstay since his academy days, is not formally part of the quartet.

“First of all, because Marc was already captain with Palace,” Maresca said. “So he has the experience. Gigio is the captain of the Italy national team, so he has the experience. The reason why I decided for them is because I can see them helping the teammates and the dressing room to behave in the right way.”

That line tells its own story. Maresca wants lieutenants who have worn the armband under pressure elsewhere, players used to setting standards in the most exposed roles. In that calculation, Foden loses out – at least on paper.

Yet he remains central to the club’s identity in his manager’s eyes. Maresca repeatedly referred to him as “one of the guys from the house”, the local boy who grew up in sky blue and carries the crowd with him.

“These are the four that are going to be the captains,” he continued. “But I was also thinking about Phil, because Phil is one of the guys from the house. He’s not in that group, but for me he’s also one of the captains, one of the players that belong to that group.”

So Foden becomes something different: an unofficial captain, a standard-bearer without the armband, trusted to influence the dressing room even if he does not lead the team out.

Maresca’s decisions around Foden are not limited to leadership. They run straight through the tactical board as well.

Foden has started the Premier League campaign on the right wing, shifted away from his preferred central role as a number 10. The reason is simple: Jeremy Doku’s injury left City short of natural width, and Maresca turned to one of his most gifted players to plug the gap.

“I think Phil’s best position is in the middle,” the coach insisted. “But he’s doing an effort to help the team. Because for the first two games we didn’t have options in the wide area, because Jeremy was injured.

“No doubt that Phil’s position in the middle is much better. But I’m very, very happy with Phil since day one. He’s working very good, even when he has played wide in the last two games, he was good.”

That willingness to sacrifice his own comfort zone underlines why Maresca speaks about Foden like a leader even while naming others as captains. The 2023-24 PFA Player of the Year has accepted the role asked of him, tracked back, stretched play and adapted his game for the collective.

For Maresca, that adaptability is not a bonus. It is a demand he places on the elite.

He sees Foden as the prototype of the modern attacker: high football IQ, technically sharp enough to operate across the front line, and tactically disciplined enough to follow instructions when the squad is stretched by injuries. The Italian has been clear that he expects his best players to solve multiple problems, not just shine in one favoured role.

Inside the club, there is no confusion about where Foden is at his most dangerous. Maresca knows it, Foden knows it, the supporters know it.

“You can see that inside the pitch he’s much better,” Maresca said of Foden’s central work. “But at the end, Phil is going to play in a different position. Because he’s a good and good players, they can play in different positions.”

That last line could define Foden’s season. Not the official captain, not always in his favourite role, but constantly central to the way City play – and to the standards Maresca is trying to set.