Phil Foden lifts lid on brother’s autism struggle as Man City star hires carer

The dad-of-three says looking after his brother and his other younger siblings helped prepare him for fatherhood, which he described as ‘special – the best feeling ever’

Phil Foden has hired a carer to help look after his autistic brother.

The kind-hearted England and Man City star made the move after seeing how difficult it was for his mum Claire Rowlands to care for him around the clock. Revealing his family’s plight for the first time, Phil, 25, said: “My brother’s got autism so when I was growing up I’d do a lot of time looking after him.

“It’s very hard. My mum’s got a hard job there. She just has to look after him full-time. He just loves like… he’s dead sensory like touch and stuff dangling things. That’s how he enjoys himself.”

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Phil added: “I’ve got my mum a helper now who comes and has him for a few days to help take the weight off her, but it’s one of those.”

The Three Lions star says looking after his brother and his other younger siblings as a youngster helped prepare him for fatherhood. He has three children, including son Ronnie, five, and two other kids, including daughter True, who was born in 2021.

Asked how it feels to be a dad, Foden said: “It’s special – best feeling ever. I love it. It makes you see more than football – when you go home and see your family, there’s something more to life.

Speaking about Ronnie, he added: “[He means] everything. He’s class. He’s so funny, honestly. He’s top.” Asked what makes him happy, Foden said: “Football, family, fishing. Three things, simple things.

Last month Foden netted a “personal best” 47lb carp on his 25th birthday fishing trip. He achieved the feat while fishing with three rods near Disneyland Paris, then waded into the water to pose with the carp, which he claimed was his “pb”.

Last summer, he snubbed exotic footballer filled foreign resorts to go on a five-day £14-a-day angling holiday in the Cotswolds with his dad fishing for carp, catfish, tench, pike and perch.

But he recently faced problems when neighbours complained about the noise coming from a fishing-themed birthday bash, complete with a nightclub-style sound system, singer and DJs, at his new home in Cheshire.

Foden’s partner Rebecca, 24, posted videos of the party on their son Ronnie’s Instagram account, which showed 2018 The Voice singer Holly Ellison belting out dance tracks as partygoers enjoyed themselves.

Speaking about his love of the hobby during a fishing trip, he told YouTuber StillRyan: “Football’s so different to this. It’s a noisy crowd, the pressure, and then you come here and it’s just completely different. It’s just chilled, no noise, I can just switch off. It’s just silent. It’s just that switch that I like.”

Foden added he wants to become a youth football coach when he eventually retires from playing. He said: “One day I want to be a coach and coach the young kids in the academy. I just love it really, helping people and making them a better person.

“It’s how I’ve grown up wanting to help people and make people happy. Trying to help anyone out that I can.”

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