Manchester City ready to make superstar highest-paid player at club to ward off potential interest from Real Madrid - Reports
Manchester City are reportedly looking to make attacker Phil Foden one of the top earners at the club to keep the likes of Real Madrid at bay. The 24-year-old has come up through the ranks at the Etihad.
Foden made his first-team debut in the 2017-18 season under Pep Guardiola and has grown from strength to strength. At 24, he's now one of the game's finest young players, winning six Premier League titles and a continental treble.
Despite being contracted with the Etihad till 2027, Foden could see his weekly wages of £200,000 nearly doubled, to £375,000, as per Sun (via GOAL) to keep big-name suitors like Los Blancos away. Currently, the club's top owners are striker Erling Haaland and midfielder Kevin De Bruyne; Foden is set to join the trio.
The proposed new deal could come into effect before the start of the next season, with City set to initiate discussions with Foden's representatives soon.
The England international is coming off a superb season, bagging 27 goals and 12 assists in 53 games across competitions. That includes 19 goals and eight assists in 35 games in the Premier League, where Guardiola's side won an unprecedented four-peat, a first in English football history.
Manchester City's hopes of back-to-back UEFA Champions League titles thwarted by Real Madrid
Manchester City's quest to join Real Madrid as the only back-to-back champions in the UEFA Champions League era was ended by Los Blancos in a rousing quarterfinal tie.
Following an entertaining 3-3 first-leg draw at the Santiago Bernabeu - where both sides squandered leads - Carlo Ancelotti's side led at the Etihad before Kevin De Bruyne drew City level.
The Belgian playmaker then missed a gilt-edged opportunity to score the winner, and Madrid would make City pay for that profligacy. The visitors eventually won 4-3 on penalties to dump out the defending champions, also ending City's bid for consecutive trebles.
After seeing off Bayern Munich in the semifinals, Los Blancos beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the final at the Wembley earlier this month to win a record-extending 15th Champions League title.