Phil Foden’s rookie card offering is limited, but soccer collectors do have a few options to choose from.
His best rookie card is easily his 2018-19 Donruss Optic Rated Rookie card, which also has some great low-numbered parallel versions to chase; I’ve covered that, and his other rookie cards below.
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Phil Foden Rookie Cards
2017-18 Topps Match Attax Premier League Extra Phil Foden #U33
This is by no means Phil Foden’s most popular card, in fact many soccer card collectors don’t consider it his rookie, but it is his first ever issued card, and that makes it his true rookie card.
The card itself was part of the Match Attax Premier League set released by Topps for the 2017-18 season. Match Attax are primarily aimed at younger collectors, which you can tell by the design of the card, and are very popular in the UK.
The card shows a young Foden, with some attribute stats, which depict an inexperienced player right at the beginning of his career.
The Match Attax sets are highly produced, so it’s not too difficult to find this card – you can easily buy it cheaply.
2017-18 Panini WCCF Phil Foden #EXTRA
Another card from Foden’s rookie season is this Panini WCCF promo card.
It’s also a little obscure, and not his most popular card among collectors, but it’s more valuable than the Match Attax card.
Many of the WCCF ‘rookie’ cards are not actually issued in the year advertised, but that’s not the case with this one – It came from a special set in the 2017-18 season.
It has a similar design to his Match Attax card, with a picture of Foden in action for Manchester City and some attribute stats, but I think the design overall is nicer and less childish.
It’s rarer than his true rookie card, and it’ll cost you a little more if you want to add it to your collection, but it’s still a good price for someone who has a good chance of being a big soccer star of the future.
A PSA 10 graded copy of this one sold for $900 in 2022 – There are no parallel versions.
2018-19 Panini Donruss Optic Phil Foden #179
Due to the obscure nature of the two cards from his rookie season, listed above, collectors have to look to Foden cards released in 2018-19 soccer products for a more traditional rookie.
This Donruss Optic Rated Rookie card is easily Phil Foden’s best, and most expensive, rookie card – It’s certainly mine, and most other collectors’ pick for a Foden rookie.
He has a regular Donruss Rated Rookie card from the set as well, but the Optic version adds a more premium chrome finish; Both have their own set of parallels.
The base card isn’t rare, and it’s affordable to buy, but there are ten different parallel versions, which hold more value, including a 1-of-1 Gold Vinyl version.
Back in 2021, a PSA 10 graded copy of the Orange parallel (/99) sold for $5.66k, which makes it one of Foden’s most expensive soccer cards.
2018-19 Panini FIFA 365 Phil Foden #468
Phil Foden’s first sticker was issued in the 2018-19 Panini FIFA 365 set, with this gold themed release.
Stickers are generally harder to keep in good condition than cards are, so it’s not easy to find one that will grade highly.
In 2021, a PSA 10 graded version sold for as much as $300, but it’s not generally that much to buy usually.
What Is The Most Expensive Phil Foden Rookie Card?
Phil Foden’s most expensive rookie card to buy is his 2018-19 Panini Donruss Optic card.
The base card is more valuable than any of his other rookie options, and the numbered parallels are worth a lot more; They’re among his most expensive soccer cards ever released.
What Is Phil Foden’s True Rookie Card?
Phil Foden’s first release, and his true rookie card, is his 2017-18 Topps Match Attax Premier League Extra card.
Are Phil Foden Rookie Cards A Good Investment
Phil Foden has had a really good couple of years, he’s still very young, but he’s establishing himself as a top player in European soccer already. With the potential he’s shown for stardom, and with the current values of his rookie cards, I think it’s a low risk soccer card investment.
There’s always some room for doubt, of course, because it only takes one big injury, for example, to stop him progressing as a player, but you can pick Foden’s rookie cards up cheaply, so I would personally say, in my opinion, it’s a good investment to make.
By the time the 2026 World Cup in America comes around, Foden will be in his prime years and should be a big part of England’s team – The hype for soccer in America will be huge at that point, and if he’s one of the world’s soccer stars, then his popularity and card values will skyrocket.
Phil Foden: A Background
Phil Foden quickly established himself as one of the brightest young talents in world soccer when he first broke through.
He was one of many young English players, in his era, showing potential to be big stars of the future, along with the likes of Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Mason Mount and Jude Bellingham, to name a few.
Foden was, however, a standalone case of a young player who has developed within Manchester City’s youth academy, and gone on to establish himself in the senior team as an important player.
Manchester City operate with a model that includes buying many of soccer’s best talents for huge transfer fees, which makes it hard for players to make the step-up from the youth academy – So it says a lot about Foden’s talent that he’s managed to do that.
Pep Guardiola, one of the most successful managers in the history of soccer, once said that Foden was the most talented young player he’s ever seen and coached, which holds a lot of weight when you consider that Guardiola managed a young Lionel Messi at Barcelona.
Although his senior rookie season was in 2017-18, it was the 2020-21 season that Foden really established himself as a top player, starting to fulfill the potential he’d shown early on in his career.
The young England international plays with flair and is exciting to watch – He’s also very versatile, because he can comfortably play in any of the attacking positions.
