The past couple of years haven’t been the easiest for Manchester City, especially by the standard of success they have held this past decade.
An overturn of crucial players like Kevin De Bruyne, Julian Alvarez and Riyad Mahrez has forced the club’s hand in replacing the outgoing talent and build a new attacking core.
While Erling Haaland has been tearing it up in the English game, there has been an impetus on him to deliver for the team in front of the goal.
To help the striker deliver and share creative duties, City made a move for French international Rayan Cherki from Olympique Lyon in the summer of 2025.
Everyone was aware of Cherki’s trickery with the ball but we are only getting to know the goofy nature he possesses as well.
The first example came in the League Cup clash against Arsenal when Cherki took time to juggle the ball before being pressed by defenders. This left Pep shaking his head as he was visibly unimpressed by the showmanship.
Reflecting on the same, Lyon left-back Nicolas Tagliafico talked about his former teammate in an interview he gave to Argentina-based YouTuber SashaJRR recently.
Expressing his surprise, the Argentina international said, “That son of a b***h has a ton of quality. I don’t know if there are players like him these days. Nowadays wingers are spicier in one-on-one situations, in speed, but he’s super skillful with both feet, He loves to throw tricks every which way, but he’s a mess.”
He added, “I don’t know how Guardiola is putting up with him, because he’s way more structured. Everything’s all nice when you’re going forward, you have to attack, it’s good to have a chaotic guy, but you lose the ball and creates a total mess.”
For Tagliafico, it was hard to see the Frenchman as one of those in the mold of a perfect Pep player.
But all of that seems to be put to bed as of now, on the back of a stellar run of form and a key performance against Chelsea on the weekend, Cherki is looking more and more integral to the success of the team this season.
The manager himself praised the 22-year-old, he said after the Chelsea game, “The numbers are incredible and the quality in the first season in the Premier League, he is something unique,”
He added, “Every player has his own ability. Rayan has something special, the second goal, I said, choose the pass right, and he passed to Marc Guéhi that I could not even see from outside.”
Cherki has scored 9 goals and another 13 assists in all competitions, which becomes even more impressive considering this is his debut season on English soil.
Tagliafico ended by acknowledging the abundance of talent in the youngster. He added, “Despite all that, he’s really good, he’s strong too, he has a lot of talent. And he’s still a kid, he’s 22 years old.”
Read more: Rayan Cherki Roasts Jeremy Doku for Stealing Pep Guardiola’s Flatcap Look During International Break
