Wayne Rooney says Guardiola’s choice to play Foden in final minutes of Carabao win was “charity”

The celebrations are still going on in Manchester after winning yet another Carabao Cup, but there is one player who may not be too happy with his role in Sunday’s final. Wayne Rooney has questioned Pep Guardiola’s decision to play Phil Foden in what he called a “charity” substitution.

Rooney felt “sad” for Foden

Foden seems to have fallen out of favor for Guardiola, who won his record fifth League Cup on Sunday. It was a tight match for the first hour, but two Nico O´Reilly goals sealed the title for the Citizens on an afternoon that Phil Foden played the final minute of the 90.

Guardiola gave Rayan Cherki a celebratory walk off the pitch in the final minute of the cup victory, and Foden was put in before he could even break a sweat on the pitch. The decision to give a player who as accomplished what Foden has such limited minutes in a cup final puzzled Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney. “There was a game a few days ago when he didn’t even get on the pitch. If that was Max Dowman coming on at the end, you would think good experience. But to see Phil Foden coming on in a cup final, it felt like a charity sub to get him on the pitch,” he said on BBC’s Wayne Rooney Show.

Foden played in all six Carabao Cup games, but it is true that Pep isn’t counting on his former starting eleven regular as much as he used to. In City’s last eight matches, Foden has played in five, coming off the bench including his one minute on Sunday and a four minute shift against Newcastle last month.

Foden gets England call up

Rooney continued, “I don’t know what has happened, he is a top player. It feels strange he can’t get anywhere near the team. It feels like something has gone on there.” Foden didn’t play a single minute of the Champions League eliminatory against Real Madrid, and it could be a sign of what’s to come after City’s massive makeover to the squad over the last couple of seasons.

Despite the lack of minutes in big matches, Foden did make Thomas Tuchel’s squad for England’s upcoming matches despite having not scored since December 14. Foden recognized there is room for improvement and is looking to come back from the break ready for the final stretch of the season.

“There are ups and downs and sometimes you can’t be the best version of yourself and that’s the way it is,” said Foden. “Hopefully I come back after the internationals a lot sharper and hopefully I can get more minutes and be back to where I was at the start of the season.”

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