Another Overrated Player at Manchester City Besides Haaland: Foden Faces Three-Month Goal Drought, Market Value Halved

In the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals this week, Manchester City lost 0-3 to a depleted Real Madrid. The world's most valuable striker, Haaland, started and played 82 minutes, producing a stat line entirely of zeros: zero shots on target as the primary forward, zero successful aerial duels despite his 1.95-meter height. Countless high-pressure games have shown that Haaland vanishes against top-tier opposition. Haaland is a severely overrated player, and another massively overrated player at Manchester City is the "prince" Foden, who remained on the bench without playing against Real Madrid.

Foden has been in a slump recently, failing to score any goals over the past three months and recording only one assist. It can be said that the "prince" has become almost invisible at Manchester City. Many media outlets and fans predict that City will likely sell Foden in the summer transfer window this year, and rumors about his departure are persistent, as he now struggles to secure a starting spot at the club.

Foden's peak was during the 2023-24 season, when he contributed 27 goals and 13 assists in 53 appearances across all competitions and won the Premier League MVP award. Subsequently, his form plummeted dramatically, and his Transfermarkt valuation has dropped from 150 million euros at that time to 80 million euros today. Given Foden's current state and performance, his market value is expected to continue falling.

With the departure of technically skilled and battle-hardened players like De Bruyne and Álvarez, and Rodri's decline after a major injury, overrated City champions such as Haaland and Foden have quickly been exposed. Guardiola and Manchester City actually hit a significant bottleneck last season; when they ended up empty-handed across all major trophies, the club should have considered a managerial change and rebuild. If Haaland + Foden could bring in 200 million euros + 80 million euros = 280 million euros in funds, City should hurry and sell them!

All gatherings must eventually end. After Guardiola's divorce, he seems to have lost his tactical magic, and his heart has returned to Spain. Continuing with Manchester City would likely result in mutual loss.