Gibbs-White hails his 4-year-old godson Ronnie Foden's 'crazy' rise to fame

Phil Foden's son Ronnie was the talk of England’s breakfast table on Tuesday after becoming an overnight Instagram sensation.

The four-year-old shot to stardom in the immediate aftermath of Manchester City’s Champions League triumph in Istanbul across a number of viral videos while celebrating with his father.

Foden Jnr was seen interacting with Erling Haaland on the pitch before shouting in amazement that supporters congregating around the tunnel area knew his name.

Fans in South America took to the youngster, nicknamed ‘El Wey’ – which translates to ‘The Dude’ – and his parents subsequently set up an Instagram account.

That amassed more than two million followers in three days with just two pictures, one alongside City legend Sergio Aguero as the club clinched the Treble.

Ronnie’s godfather, Under-21 star Morgan Gibbs-White, revealed the England team had been discussing his antics ahead of their European Championship game against Germany on Wednesday.

‘It’s crazy,’ Gibbs-White said. ‘We were speaking about it at breakfast. This kid has got more followers than all of us put together over two nights. He’s a lovely little kid and fair play to him.’

The Nottingham Forest midfielder became close with Foden while rooming together during the England’s triumphant Under-17 World Cup campaign in India six years ago.

Foden has been in contact with Gibbs-White during the Euros, in which England have already secured a place in Sunday’s quarter-final and can send Germany home by beating them tonight.

A theme at this tournament has been members of Lee Carsley’s squad suggesting that they are closer than previous squads. Gibbs-White has personal experience, having been named in the 2019 group stage exit alongside the likes of Foden, James Maddison and Dean Henderson.

The 23-year-old puts that down to Carsley’s consistent team selection throughout the qualifying campaign, with those promoted to the seniors not dropping back down.

‘You saw the players in that [2019] team and think, “you’re going to win the tournament,” but it wasn't really as together,’ Gibbs-White added. ‘I think that’s down to Cars and keeping the team the same over these two years.

‘You can see from afar whether a team’s together or not, when a decision might not go someone’s way and the boys are backing and supporting each other. I might make a mistake and my team-mates are behind me, supporting me.

‘Togetherness has been massive for us. I think that’s what maybe lacked previously [because] we had the players.’

Gareth Southgate and assistant Steve Holland took in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Israel and were at training on Tuesday morning. ‘He keeps himself to himself,’ Gibbs-White said. ‘We say hello in a morning. It’s nice to have him around, it gives you an extra boost to impress.’

Meanwhile, Carsley is expected to make a number of changes against Germany, with six players one booking away from a suspension. Yellow cards reset ahead of the knockout stages.