It’s the most expensive team in sports—but the best player came for free

livemint.com:

The absurd collection of talent that lifted the Premier League trophy on Sunday—a group of dazzling players plucked from nearly a dozen countries—cost Manchester City some $1.4 billion to assemble. For yet another season, it was the most expensive squad in professional sports. But the club’s player of the year, the one who lit up the team and scored the goals that finally sealed the title, was a guy it picked up for free.

Discovered in the town of Stockport, less than 10 miles from City’s stadium, Phil Foden is the homegrown superstar who cost one of the richest clubs in soccer exactly nothing to sign. He first joined the club with the Under-9s, rose through the youth academy, and made his professional debut at 17. Six years later, Foden’s silverware collection now includes an Under-17 World Cup with England, six Premier League titles, one Champions League, and two FA Cups—he can add a third when City faces Manchester United in the FA Cup final.

“He is 23 years old and he has won trophies like an animal," says City sporting director Txiki Begiristain, who has overseen Foden’s development since he was a preteen. “His progression has been unbelievable." City manager Pep Guardiola long ago dubbed Foden his player of the season, weeks before the Premier League officially handed him that distinction this month. A shifty dribbler who can shoot from anywhere, he scored 27 goals in 51 appearances across all competitions, without being a striker.

This summer, Foden is set to be an essential piece for the England national team at the European Championship. “He can do whatever he wants," Guardiola said. “He’s a really top-class player." How a club with the Gulf-backed wealth of Manchester City wound up with possibly the biggest