Inter Milan wanted Phil Foden after the youth tournament, but he was “never going to leave” the beloved Manchester City

Phil Foden has become a Manchester City superstar and his love for his boyhood club is what sets him apart from the rest.

The 23-year-old has played for city ​​man his entire career, going from fan to academy product and making history as a treble winner.

His talent has been known around the club since his first session at the academy and he was so good at youth level that he would play in teams above his age.

They would take him to tournaments all over Europe and even when he wasn't playing, spectators could see that he was going to be special.

Darren Bowman, former City academy coach and current academy director at Lee Man FC in the Hong Kong Premier League, saw first-hand the impact Foden had with a ball at his feet.

Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT.com, Bowman said: “There were tournaments we took him to, just for the experience where he couldn't play, but we wanted to get him used to traveling and different environments.

“We took him to a tournament and he wasn't there to play, so he was just having fun at halftime.

“And everyone there was talking about this kid they saw at halftime and why he wasn't playing.

“That shows the kind of star presence he had.”

It was at another youth tournament where Foden could have taken a new path away from Man City, had the club made a different decision.

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“He played another tournament and we received an offer of Inter de Milan buy it,” Bowman revealed.

“We were in Italy and they asked us 'How much do you want?'

“There is always interest and offers for players like that. You need to make sure you retain your best talent and keep them on track.

“For someone like Phil, he was never going to leave. He's a City fan, he was a City ball boy, he's City through and through and he's not interested in any other club.

“Phil was well known throughout the UK and Europe for his level, but there was no way he would leave the club or the club would ever let him leave.”

Now Foden is a prominent member of pep guardiolasquad, posting the best numbers of his career in the first division and Champions League.

All his growth is due to his beloved Man City, whose easy choice to support him when he was young led him to become one of the best in the world.