City star on the net gains of favourite fishing hobby

'I don't think I know any other footballers who are into fishing'

- BY DIANNE BOURNE

WITH the Premier League season coming to an end, it’s time for footballers to prepare to relax and recharge over the coming weeks. And for Manchester City star Phil Foden, relaxation means a spot of fishing.

“It’s just that switch off from football,” he tells the Express. “It’s completely different to football - it's quiet, no one to bother you.

“My old man [his dad, Phil Snr] first got me into it and I just love doing it in my spare time, I find it a good way of switching off from the world. When I want to relax, it's fishing.”

Stockport-raised Phil is aware of how unusual his hobby is in the world of football, despite his attempts to spread the word of the benefits of the pursuit.

He says: “I don’t think I know any other footballers who are into fishing.”

We delved into a day in the life of homegrown footballing hero Phil, as he headed to a Warrington fisheries to partake of his favourite hobby away from the football field.

Earlier, he had taken part in a shoot for his role as a long-term ambassador for McDonald’s Fun Football, a programme that provides free football coaching to children aged 5-11 of all skill levels.

On the pitch, City have had an unusually quiet season, and the one perk of that for Phil has been extra time to pursue his angling passion.

I ask how much time he gets to go fishing at the moment, and he said: “More time than normal I'd say, because we're normally in every competition and so we're getting a little bit more time off recently I'd say, so I've had a few more days to go fishing than normal.

“Normally it's quite difficult up until we finish the season to get fishing, but I’ve got a few sessions in recently.”

While many footballers jet off on luxury beach holidays for the summer, Phil loves to head to France and Spain to continue to enjoy his fishing.