French attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki recently returned to the national camp for the upcoming leg of the UEFA Nations League 2026-27.
Les Bleus will be competing against Italy tomorrow [November 13] at the San Siro Stadium in Milan, following which they will face Turkiye in the next match to be held on November 16 at the Matmut Stadium in Vénissieux, France.
Cherki will not be alone, since his Man City teammate, goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, will be joining the Italian team for the high-voltage clash tomorrow.
Domestic leagues like the Premier League and La Liga will take a backseat for a short while.
However, that is not why Cherki is the centre of attraction. It is rather because of his shopping spree from AliExpress!
The 23-year-old midfielder uploaded a collage of his photos from the Les Bleus camp at the Centre National Du Football on his Instagram account, with the following caption [translated from French],
“Back to home”
While two of the photographs contained his entry shots, one photo was of a black Adidas handbag, with the brand name and the following slogan painted on it, “No Risk No Reward”. One of his French teammates, Hugo Ekitike, cheekily commented,
“How much is this for?”
To this, Cherki simply commented,
“ALIEXPRESS”
This comment gained buzz on the social media platform X, with one user terming him the people’s footballer.
Mais cherki je suis ko mdrrrr c’est vraiment le footballeur du peuple 🤣🤣 https://t.co/jT3m0hugVG
— Barcolinho 🇫🇷 (@FaureIban) November 11, 2026
Another user replied in the comment section,
[“Wooowww Ali express Cherki is such a guy from the hood he used to eat rusks without Nutella just like us the streets wshh he puts on TN”]
@FaureIban Wawwww Ali express Cherki c’est trop un mec ´d’en bas il mangeait des biscotte sans nutella comme nous la rue wshh il met des tn
— Mitch933 (@mitch93390) November 11, 2026
One user ever commented,
[“He restored relations with China without knowing it.”]
@FaureIban Il a rétabli les relations avec la Chine sans le savoir
— Legalize complotism 🇲🇦🇫🇷🇧🇷 (@Moulrchwa) November 11, 2026
Cherki was last seen in action in the Premier League match played against Nottingham Forest FC held on November 7. Cherki found the back of the net in the 52nd minute.
However, it was of no use, since back-to-back goals from Liam Delap and Jair Cunha in the opening few minutes of the match gave the Garibaldi Reds an unassailable edge over the Sky Blues, as they won the match 3-1.
Nottingham Forest FC jumped up to 16th place in the 2026-27 Premier League table, while Manchester City slipped down one place further to third, allowing Brighton & Hove Albion to take over the second position.
However, Cherki is not very disappointed by this setback.
He is focusing his sights on the upcoming UEFA Nations League, where France will be aiming to proceed to the next stage by winning both matches against France and Turkiye.
After this, he shall be focusing on regrouping for the next Premier League match, which will be held between Manchester City and Fulham on November 21. The match will be held at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester.
