Manchester City’s Phil Foden may be one of the Premier League’s most expressive footballers on the pitch, but when it comes to unwinding, he prefers the quiet tranquility of the lakeside with a rod in his hand.
As he told the Manchester Evening News, fishing is “just that switch off from football… it’s quiet, no one to bother you.” In a sport where high-intensity escapes often mean long-haul flights and private beach villas, Foden’s downtime is strikingly modest.
Introduced to angling by his father, Foden says, “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.” During a long season, with games across multiple competitions, those quiet hours at a Warrington fishery or by a lake in France offer a rare sense of balance. And it’s now becoming a multi-generational family tradition as Foden has introduced his son to fishing and says he’s “loving it.”
Foden isn’t alone in finding enjoyment by the water’s edge. Across football, a surprising number of elite players turn to angling as their preferred escape. Cristiano Ronaldo found fishing while growing up in Madeira, a global hub for sport fishing, while Sergio Agüero took up the hobby during an injury spell in 2014 and has stuck with it ever since.
David Beckham has long embraced the meditative pull of fly fishing, once proudly showing off an Icelandic salmon, and fellow former Manchester United player Memphis Depay fell in love with the pastime as a boy on trips with his grandfather in Holland. Some have even taken their commitment further, with ex-Chelsea captain John Terry building his own carp lake, and Swedish great Zlatan Ibrahimović owning his own private one in his home country.
Fishing’s Endless Appeal in Britain
Leisure fishing has, for a long time, been a much-loved British pastime. Phil Foden learning from his father and then passing that knowledge to his son is indicative of this appeal across generations. And it only seems to be growing. The industry is now worth a reported £3 billion-plus a year.
It’s no surprise that fishing is thriving across entertainment, for example. Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing draws millions with its gentle mix of humour and riverbank reflection, while in iGaming, titles like Big Bass Splash have joined enduring favourites like The Sun Winning Headlines and The Sun Cashpots as top-performing bingo casino games.
Cleaner rivers, healthier fish stocks, and sustained efforts by the Environment Agency to support the industry have all helped boost its attraction. This has encouraged interest from new anglers. Indeed, a University of Worcester study highlighted how social media has energised modern fishing culture, with one of the most striking developments being the rise of urban fishing. Canals in London, Birmingham and Manchester have become lively, diverse hubs for “street anglers,” helped by an explosion of online content creators such as Birmingham’s Snagged Bro.
Escaping the Pressures of Modern-Day Football
When it comes to Phil Foden, fishing is more than a hobby; it’s an opportunity to unwind and, for a short time, escape the intensity of professional football. Away from roaring crowds and relentless schedules, the quiet patience of angling allows him to switch off, reconnect with nature, and spend meaningful time with his family. From lakes in Warrington to trips abroad with his son, fishing offers Foden a rare sense of calm and perspective.
